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UK supplies weapons to Ukraine while Canada sends special forces Military news

The United Kingdom has begun supplying tanks with weapons to Ukraine, and Canada has reportedly deployed a small contingent of special forces to Kiev amid concerns over a possible Russian invasion.

The incident took place when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov angrily dismissed him claims The United States was preparing an excuse for Moscow to invade Ukraine last week if diplomacy did not meet its targets.

Moscow, which has deployed 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, denies plans to attack Ukraine, saying it could take unspecified military action if the West does not accept a list of demands, including a ban on Kyiv’s NATO membership.

Russia sees NATO’s expansion to the east as an existential threat.

But Washington and its allies have strongly rejected Moscow’s demands and the Russia-US talks in Geneva, and the NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels ended last week. without progress.

Since then, Kyiv has asked for weapons to help Western countries protect themselves.

Speaking in the British Parliament on Monday, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK had “taken a decision to equip Ukraine with light weapons defense systems”.

The first weapons were delivered on Monday and a small number of British workers said they would provide training in a short time, without specifying the number and type of weapons being shipped.

But he added: “They are not strategic weapons and do not pose a threat to Russia. They must be used for self-defense.

“These are short-range.

In an extraordinary Article Wallace, who published it on Monday, also addressed Russia’s demands for NATO threats, saying the Western security alliance was “at its core, in its defense.”

“The former Soviet states have not been expanded by NATO, but they have joined their demands,” he wrote. “The Kremlin is trying to present NATO as a Western plot to gain access to its territory, but the truth is that the growth of the Alliance’s members is a natural response to these states to its activities and evil threats.”

In Kiev, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov praised the UK’s support, saying in a Twitter post that his country “greatly appreciates Britain’s decision to launch a new security package for light weapons, anti-armor and defense systems”.

Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia could launch an attack on their country from various directions, including from its ally Belarus. Russian and Belarusian troops plan to conduct large-scale military exercises next month, including near Belarus’s border with Ukraine.

Alexander Volfovich, secretary of the Belarussian Security Council, said on Monday that Russian troops had begun arriving in the country to carry out the exercise, according to the BELTA news agency.

Russia has denied plans to attack its neighbor, accusing the Ukrainian leader of plotting to use force in eastern Ukraine to regain control of Russian-backed rebel territories. Ukrainian authorities have denied the claim.

Separated from Canada, Global News reported that Ottawa had sent special forces operators to Ukraine.

Citing unspecified sources, the TV channel said the unit would identify ways to assist the Ukrainian government and help develop evacuation plans for diplomatic staff in Canada in the event of a full-scale invasion.

A spokesman for the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command said it could not confirm the report, but that since 2020 it has provided support to Ukrainian security forces on a regular basis to provide training and “specialization as instructors and leaders.”

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal in Kiev on Monday for a visit to discuss Russia’s efforts to prevent “aggressive action.”

Russia took control of Crimea in 2014.




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