Great Britain to send military advisors to Ukraine

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Feb. 24 that his government will dispatch up to 75 military advisors to Ukraine in the next several weeks to consult and train Ukrainian soldiers, the BBC reported. The soldiers will be dispatched to regions that are far from the conflict zone and will offer training in medicine, logistics and reconnaissance. Canadian Defense Minister Jason Kenney said on Feb. 25 that his government may also dispatch military instructors to Ukraine, as reported by thestar.com news site. The U.S. has already agreed to send a battalion of soldiers in March to western Ukraine to train government forces.

Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who current serves as the head of Ukraine’s consultation council for international reforms, reported on his Facebook page on Feb. 25 that he is meeting with U.S. defense officials to secure armaments for Ukraine. He said he met with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as other senators and U.S. House representatives, to discuss creating legislative pressure in order to secure Ukraine arms.

The Russian-backed separatists are currently regrouping and relocating their forces along all front lines, particularly in the direction of Mariupol, reported on Feb. 25 Dmytro Tymchuk, a military expert and head of the InfoResist news site. The same day, Ukrainian forces thwarted an attack near the village of Shyrokyno, which is 23 kilometers directly east of Mariupol, reported Andriy Lysenko, the spokesman for the Anti-Terrorist Operation. The fighters shot at ATO positions five times using artillery, mortars and grenade launchers and tried to storm them, he reported. The attacks were successfully repelled.

The separatists also transferred large amounts of military hardware to the town of Novoazovsk, which is 44 kilometers east of Mariupol. “Regardless of the statements of the gangs of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics on the beginning of the removal of military hardware from the separation line in accordance with the Minsk accords, military hardware from Russian territory was transferred through the Izvarine border crossing during the last two days, including Grad rapid-fire missile launchers, armored personnel carriers, tanker trucks, a large number of covered vehicles with personnel and arms,” Lysenko said.

Zenon Zawada: Events are heading towards a showdown over Mariupol, the key Azov Sea port city with two large steel factories. We are confident the British government’s decision to dispatch instructors is a precursor – and laying the groundwork – for defensive weapons being approved by the U.S. government, especially considering that the armies of these two governments work closely. To us, the biggest issue is whether these weapons will come before a likely attempt by the Russian-backed separatists to capture Mariupol, or afterwards. The separatist forces might attempt the siege before a decision on arms is reached by the U.S. government.