This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. More than 100 are serving in a training and advisory role with Polish, US and Canadian forces. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that it is highly unlikely that UK forces will fight Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.
More than 100,000 Russian troops are reported to be near the border, with tensions continuing to mount. Satellite images from the US firm Maxar Technologies have revealed a new brigade-level unit, consisting of hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles, located at an army base in Crimea. Moscow has also published changes in regulations to allow military deaths to be buried in theatre rather than be repatriated to Russia. This is seen as an attempt to signal that plans for a military incursion are being made, though Russia denies this. In a surprise move ahead of talks with the US, it announced last night it was pulling back 10,000 troops from close to the Ukrainian border. It represents a fraction of the number still believed to be stationed in the area.
Army chiefs are to conduct a full review of Operation Orbital to make sure all UK troops can be safely withdrawn if Moscow orders are placed in troops. Most of the British force is stationed at Yavoriv and will drive to the Polish border a short distance away, sources say. A team of staff officers in Kiev will be in the capital for the border while a maritime training team in Odessa is in the UK for Christmas. The decision to evacuate will be made by Chief of Joint Operations Lt Gen Charlie Strickland.
Over Christmas, his staff at Permanent Joint HQ in Northwood, Herts will be on standby to monitor atmospherics and Lt Gen Strickland is expected to receive twice-daily updates. He will be looking carefully to gauge the effect of any incursion on the ability to get his troops out - he cannot allow them to be trapped there, said an Army source last night. British forces have given short-term training to the Ukraine Army as part of an international package of support after the aggression in 2014. This created Russian-backed mini-states in eastern Ukraine, such as the Luhansk People's Republic.
Since 2015, the UK force has given more than 21,000 Ukrainian personnel medical, planning, logistics and infantry training. The operation was extended to 2023 and expanded to include the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in 2019. They have been preparing Ukraine's navy to face threats in the Sea of Azov. Washington has provided more than 1.8 billion in security assistance since 2015, and support from allies continues. While EU support is limited, the administration is focused on a number of sanctions, including banning Russia's state-owned banks from using Swift funds and from holding foreign cash.