UK Army Starts Training Ukrainian Troops

Some 35 UK military instructors arrived in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv to train Ukrainian soldiers fighting against independence militias.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Some 35 UK military instructors have started training Ukrainian soldiers fighting against independence militias in the east of the country, the BBC reported Thursday.

UK instructors arrived in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv and are expected to stay for two months, improving Ukrainian troop skills in defense and medical aid, according to the news outlet.

Instructors from the UK have started to train Ukrainian military pic.twitter.com/uQuRgKHmJU http://t.co/O9WiVOtS1V http://t.co/O9WiVOtS1V

— Cassandra N. Makhno (@CassandraMakhno) March 19, 2015

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the training assistance in late February. The United Kingdom is also providing the country with other forms of non-lethal aid.

Earlier on Thursday, US Vice President Joe Biden said that the United States will launch a training program for 780 Ukrainian National Guard soldiers "as soon as possible."

Canada and Poland have also expressed the intention to send military advisers to Ukraine.

The standoff between Kiev and pro-independence forces of the Donbas started April 2014 and has killed over 6,000 people, according to UN estimates. The warring sides have signed a ceasefire deal, which entered on February 15.