UK Trained Over 60k Ukrainian Troops Since 2014
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During a press conference, Shapps detailed that the UK "convened some 10 countries to help Ukrainians train" in the country and that the programs have trained "over 60,000 Ukrainian troops" since 2014.
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Former British Army officer Ben Wallace meets new recruits of the Ukrainian army being trained by UK military specialists during a visit to the training camp near Manchester England on July 7, 2022 (AP)
The UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has revealed that since 2014, the United Kingdom has trained almost 60,000 Ukrainian servicemen.
During a press conference, Shapps detailed that the UK "convened some 10 countries to help Ukrainians train" in the country and that the programs have trained "over 60,000 Ukrainian troops" since 2014.
Crimea joined Russia in 2014, following a nationwide referendum in which 96% of voters decided to split from Ukraine. Kiev and its Western friends, particularly the UK, considered the referendum illegal.
Western nations have been offering military assistance to Ukraine since the war in the country began in February 2022. The assistance progressed from smaller artillery rounds and training to bigger weaponry like tanks and planes.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the highest aid package for Ukraine in the upcoming fiscal year, totaling $3.2 billion, and inked a 10-year security cooperation deal with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Last July, an international coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands formed to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s, the country's preferred fighter plane.
In November, the European Defense Agency (EDA) reported that the European Union's military expenditures reached a record 240 billion euros ($260 billion) in 2023 in response to the war in Ukraine.
The figure marked a six percent overall increase from 2021, with the EU's 27 member states boosting their acquisitions of new military equipment. The EDA reported that six countries raised their spending by over 10 percent, including NATO applicant Sweden, which increased by over 30 percent.
EU countries have depleted their stockpiles by sending weaponry worth tens of billions of euros of aid to Ukraine in the war with Russia. The EU is working to enhance production capabilities to meet the increased demands of the war, urging member states to sign joint contracts and collaborate on orders for military equipment.
However, building industrial capacity is a time-consuming process, and the EU is expected to fall short of its target to send one million shells to Ukraine by March.
Military aid to Ukraine 'ground to a halt'; US funding over: Kirby
Meanwhile, in the United States, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby announced that all military aid to Ukraine has been suspended.
“We have issued the last drawdown package that we had funding to support, and that’s why it’s critical that Congress move on that national security supplemental request,” Kirby said, noting that US military support for Ukraine has "ground to a halt."
This comes right after White House and Senate negotiators revealed that they were on the verge of finalizing a comprehensive deal for a supplemental bill aimed at funding aid to Ukraine and US national security measures, including enhanced border security.
"We are very close, we're dealing with the last one or two items, but we're working productively with a shared focus on getting to an agreement," Senator Kyrsten Sinema stated in an exclusive interview for local news broadcaster KGUN 9.
Sinema revealed that she anticipates a draft text of the bill to be available for other lawmakers to review shortly. This development comes amid mounting concerns over the urgency of providing aid to Ukraine and "Israel", two key US allies.
The last military package Joe Biden allocated to Ukraine was worth $200 million drawn from the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which does not rely on congressional approval.
