Arya News - British soldiers operating in Ukraine are legitimate targets, Russia has warned.
British soldiers operating in Ukraine are legitimate targets, Russia has warned.
Just days after a British paratrooper was killed in an accident away from the front line, the Kremlin has questioned why UK troops were even in the country.
Russia’s foreign ministry said British troops in Ukraine had helped Kyiv carry out “extremist” acts, and demanded to know what L/Cpl George Hooley was doing in Ukraine when he was killed.
L/Cpl Hooley, 28, died during a test of Ukrainian defensive capabilities, not hostile fire, the Ministry of Defence said.
In announcing his death, it was the first time that the presence of the Parachute Regiment had been confirmed in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Russia said that the presence of British troops in Ukraine did not come as a surprise and said they would be considered legitimate targets.
“London must honestly admit what their very own Hooley was doing there,” said Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova. “It seems that perhaps someone there in Britain began to carefully prepare public opinion in their country for military losses in Ukraine that would be impossible to simply hide and continue to conceal.”
100 British troops in Ukraine
The UK has previously acknowledged that there is a small number of British personnel in Ukraine. They provide security to Britain’s diplomatic presence and support the Ukrainian army, but do not operate along the front line. It is thought that there are around 100.
Russia has sought to portray as proof that British soldiers are operating inside Ukraine, which the Kremlin has claimed multiple times throughout the war.
The Russian ambassador to London, Andrey Kelin, previously told state-owned Russian news agency Tass that the UK was involved in the conflict “perhaps even more deeply than any other Nato member”.
The UK, along with France and 30 other countries, is preparing to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal being agreed with Russia . The exact role of those troops is yet to be established, but it is thought they would provide training and reassurance to Ukraine, rather than engage in any future conflict.
‘If you met George, you remembered it’
Tributes poured in for L/Cpl Hooley after it emerged that he had been killed in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: “L/Cpl Hooley was injured in a tragic accident away from the front lines while observing Ukrainian forces testing a new defensive capability.
“His life was full of courage and determination. He served our country with honour and distinction around the world in the cause of freedom and democracy, including as part of the small number of British personnel in Ukraine.”
“If you met George Hooley, you remembered it,” his company commander added. “His energy and enthusiasm were simply extraordinary.”
The Telegraph has approached the Ministry of Defence for comment.
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