British troops are getting ready for one of their largest deployments in Europe since the Cold War, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced.
Thousands of UK soldiers are to be sent to countries ranging from North Macedonia to Finland in the coming months to take part in joint drills with their counterparts from NATO, Finland, and Sweden.
The deployment to Eastern Europe is expected to peak at some 8,000 troops between April and June.100 armoured assault vehicles, tanks, artillery guns and aircraft are also being sent to Europe to support Nato forces, in what British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, described as a “show of solidarity and strength” as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.
Yesterday, it was reported that a British man, Scott Sibley, 36, a former soldier who served with the Royal Marines, died in a Russia shelling in Mykolaiv, in the south of the country. Paying tribute, his former regiment said he had “showed Commando spirit until the end”.
The Foreign Office on Thursday confirmed that a British national had died in Ukraine and that a second Briton is missing. Both men had been serving with a brigade of Ukraine’s international legion, made up of foreign recruits, according to military sources.
In a press release, the armed forces described the action as “a series of planned exercises around Europe this summer in one of the largest deployments since the Cold War.”
The operation, named Exercise Hedgehog, begins next month.
The exercises will see 72 Challenger 2 tanks, 12 AS90 tracked artillery guns and 120 Warrior armoured fighting vehicles deployed to countries from Finland to North Macedonia, “demonstrating the Army’s modernisation into a lethal, agile and global force,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Thursday.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The security of Europe has never been more important. These exercises will see our troops join forces with allies and partners across NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force in a show of solidarity and strength in one of the largest shared deployments since the Cold War.
“Operating across Europe, the British Army will stand alongside partners, combining our capabilities and shared values, promoting peace and security.”
The Ministry of Defence said the planned exercises will bolster the ability of UK and Finnish troops to work alongside each other, “deterring Russian aggression in Scandinavia and the Baltic states”.
The plans for a large-scale deployment have been underway for some time, but they were amplified in the wake of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the MoD said.
The drills are going to be “fundamental” to Britain’s contribution to European defence and the deterrence of Russia, Commander Field Army Lt Gen Ralph Wooddisse said.
“The scale of the deployment, coupled with the professionalism, training and agility of the British army, will deter aggression at a scale not seen in Europe this century,” he added.
The MoD also said that British soldiers have been training together with US forces in Poland. It also announced that British troops have also been deployed to Finland, which shares a 1,300-km-long border with Russia, to be embedded in an armoured brigade.
Russia has always decried military drills and NATO build-up close to its borders, claiming that such moves increased tensions in the region and put Europe at risk of a major confrontation.
Amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, the UK has established itself as one of Ukraine’s main backers and arms suppliers. London has already sent anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems and is sending armoured vehicles to Kiev. Reports state that Ukrainian troops have also been receiving training from the British army both on home soil and in the UK.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine by Britain, the US and some European nations continue, in spite of Moscow’s claim that such action only prolongs the conflict and hampers the prospect of peace.
At the start of the war, Ukraine’s government urged volunteers from across the world to come and help support its armed forces as they took on Russia.