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Britain to expand training program for Ukrainian troops: defence chief

Xinhua, August 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Visiting British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Tuesday that his country is committed to expanding its current training program for the Ukrainian armed forces.

"We have already trained 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen so far and I have set a task to train a total of 2,000 members of the Ukrainian army by the end of the financial year in Great Britain, which ends on March 31, 2016," Fallon told reporters while visiting a Ukrainian army training facility in the northern Zhitomir region.

The expanded training program will focus on infantry exercises, lessons in first aid, dealing with landmines, creating fortifications and conducting operations in urban areas, Fallon said.

Since March, a total of 75 British instructors have been providing security assistance to Ukrainian servicemen, who fight against pro-independence rebels in the eastern regions in a conflict that has killed over 6,800 people since April 2014.

The insurgents' leadership has strongly objected the presence of foreign military personnel in Ukraine, claiming it undermines a peace process in the country.

Fallon arrived in Ukraine earlier in the day for a one-day visit. Endite