Sweden to Send Up to 120 Military Instructors to UK to Train Ukraine's Troops, Gov't Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Swedish military will send up to 120 military instructors to the United Kingdom to train Ukrainian soldiers, the Swedish Government Office said on Sunday.

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed the initiative to provide Ukrainian troops with basic military training in mid-June, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days. Johnson also invited other nations in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and Canada to join the initiative.

"Between 12 August and 31 December 2022, the Swedish Armed Forces will send up to 120 instructors to the UK to conduct basic military training for Ukrainian citizens, divided into several training courses," the office said on the website, adding that "a maximum of 60 Swedish instructors will be in the UK simultaneously."

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand announced on Thursday that Ottawa will commit to the UK's initiative by sending up to 225 military instructors.

The JEF is a UK-led expeditionary force consisting of Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway. The force was launched in 2014. The coalition can be integrated with NATO or any other international security force in the shortest possible time should the necessity arise.