UKRAINE-CRISIS/BRITAIN-FALLON Britain to boost training support for Ukrainian army - Fallon

Record ID: 144200

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/BRITAIN-FALLON Britain to boost training support for Ukrainian army - Fallon
  • Date: 11th August 2015
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (AUGUST 11, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FALLON SHAKING HANDS WITH UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER, STEPAN POLTORAK VARIOUS OF POLTORAK LISTENING TO FALLON POLTORAK SPEAKING UKRAINIAN FLAG AND PENCILS ON TABLE UKRAINIAN MILITARY OFFICIALS LISTENING BRITISH FLAG ON TABLE BRITISH DELEGATION DURING MEETING EMBLEM OF UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES ON WALL FALLON AND POLTORAK TAKING SEATS BRITISH FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE, MICHAEL FALLON, SAYING: "I am setting the British army a new target to train over 2,000 members of the Ukrainian military by the end of this financial year. So that that training can be cascaded through the entire Ukrainian military and that the trainers we have trained can, in turn, train others." MICROPHONES FALLON AND POLTORAK LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 26th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3MAK091CU22HF8HJ9MHJW8PBZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Britain will increase its support to train the Ukrainian army, Defence Minister Michael Fallon said on Tuesday (August 11) in Kiev.
    Fallon met Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk and reassured him of Britain's support.
    "This is not, must not be allowed to become a frozen conflict. It seems to me pretty red hot given how many of your own troops have been killed since the signing of the peace agreement, the numbers wounded. I am here to reaffirm our support for Ukraine and its fight for freedom, its right to territorial integrity and its right to have its borders respected," he said.
    Yatseniuk accused pro-Russian separatists in the country's east of breaking ceasefire stipulated by the Minsk agreements.
    "Russia-led troops severely increased the number of shellings. Yesterday it was about 95 shellings. So we do understand that Russia is not eager neither to implement the Minsk deal nor to pull back its forces. So situation is very complicated on the ground and they started to attack not only Ukrainian military, but actually they started to intimidate OSCE representatives," Yatseniuk said.
    The military said on Monday (August 10) 400 rebel fighters supported by tanks had attacked government forces around the village of Starohnativka, 50 km (30 miles) north of the Kiev-held port city of Mariupol. The rebels denied attacking government troops.
    A ceasefire deal, signed in mid-February, has failed to stem the violence in the eastern conflict zone. Both sides regularly accuse the other of violating the terms of the peace agreement and casualties are reported almost daily.
    Fallon also met his Ukrainian counterpart Stepan Poltorak and said Britain will increase its contribution to military training.
    "I am setting the British army a new target to train over 2,000 members of the Ukrainian military by the end of this financial year. So that that training can be cascaded through the entire Ukrainian military and that the trainers we have trained can, in turn, train others," Fallon said.
    Several countries have recently made similar offers. Canada and Poland have pledged to send 200 and 50 instructors respectively this year.
    About 310 members of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, are currently training the second of three battalions of Ukrainian national guardsmen in western Ukraine near the Polish border.
    Training of the third battalion is expected to conclude by November 15, after which the United States and other Western allies could begin training regular Ukrainian military forces, if they can agree on the details and a training programme with Kiev.
    More than 6,500 people have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in April 2014, according to U.N. estimates.
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