Britain is sending "self-defence" weapons to Ukraine amid mounting fears Russia will invade, MPs were told this evening.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said a “small number” of UK troops would be sent to train local soldiers, in response to the ongoing build-up of Kremlin forces on the Ukrainian border.
They will be deployed under Operation Orbital, the UK's training mission to Ukraine which was established in 2015 following Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimea.
Mr Wallace told the Commons: "In light of the increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia and in addition to our current support, the UK is providing a new security assistance package to increase Ukraine's defensive capabilities.
"We have taken the decision to supply Ukraine with light anti-armour defensive weapons systems.
"A small number of UK personnel will provide early-stage training for a short period of time, within the framework of Operation Orbital, before returning to the United Kingdom.
"This security assistance package complements the training capabilities Ukraine already has and those that are also being provided by the UK and other allies in Europe and the United States.”
Russian forces have been accused of helping anti-government rebels in eastern Ukraine since the 2014 invasion of the Crimea.
An estimated 15,000 people have been killed in clashes in the region, including in the Donbas.
Western intelligence services estimate up to 100,000 Russian soldiers are massed on the frontier.
Negotiations to ease tensions have so far failed.
Moscow has accused NATO of expanding eastwards and called for the alliance to rule out membership by Ukraine and Georgia - and effectively expel a host of former Soviet Union members admitted after 1997.
Mr Wallace told MPs Ukraine “has every right to defend its borders and this new package of aid further enhances its ability to do so”.
The former Scots Guards officer stressed they would be “short-range and clearly defensive weapon capabilities - they are not strategic weapons and pose no threat to Russia; they are to use in self-defence”.
He warned that “any destabilising action by Russia in Ukraine would be a strategic mistake, it'd have significant consequences”.
NATO has threatened Vladimir Putin with economic consequences if he orders troops into Ukraine.
“There is a package of international sanctions ready to go that will make sure that the Russian government is punished if it crosses the line,” Mr Wallace said.
But he added: “No-one wants conflict, the Ukrainians are not seeking confrontation, despite the illegal annexation of their land - Crimea - and the occupation of Donbas.”
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey pledged Labour ’s backing, hailing “unified UK political support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea, in the face of escalating Russian aggression”.
He added: “These are dangerous days for security in Europe, especially for the Ukrainian people.”
