Britain to Send Troops to Ukraine as ‘Military Advisers’

Cameron: Move a 'Signal to Russia'

British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that Britain is going to begin sending troops to Ukraine later this week, with the first set of “trainers” arriving in Kiev in a few days, and further troops to come as military advisers.

Cameron insists the British troops won’t be sent to the front line of the Ukrainian Civil War, which is presently in a ceasefire at any rate, but British troops appear to be headed further east than the US training mission, which is in the nation’s far west.

Cameron added that the move is not just intended to prop up Ukraine’s war against the rebel east, but to “send a signal to the Russians” that Britain will not tolerate their backing of the rebellion.

Russia, with the help of EU members France and Germany, got a ceasefire in place in east Ukraine earlier this month, a move that British and US officials have been critical of. Though Cameron now says he supports a “diplomatic settlement,” during the ceasefire talks Britain insisted they would never support any deal that didn’t include an unconditional rebel surrender.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.