Medvedev Threatens British Troops Training Ukrainians: ‘Legitimate Targets’
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has fired a chilling warning at British soldiers involved in training Ukrainian forces. Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, declared that UK troops could become “legitimate targets” for Moscow’s military.
Medvedev’s Warning: British Trainers ‘Will Be Ruthlessly Destroyed’
Posting on Telegram, Medvedev warned: “If British troops move their instructors into Ukraine, they will become a legal target for our armed forces. They will be ruthlessly destroyed—not as mercenaries, but as British NATO specialists.”
UK Considers Deploying Troops on Ukrainian Soil
The stark threat comes after UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps revealed talks with Army chiefs about relocating British-led training and military production inside Ukraine. This could mark the first time British troops set foot in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Shapps recently visited Kyiv and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss deepening military support. Talks included the British Navy’s potential role in protecting commercial ships from Russian attacks in the Black Sea.
Operation Interflex and the Next Stage of UK Support
In an exclusive to The Sunday Telegraph, Shapps outlined Operation Interflex, the UK-led programme that has trained over 20,000 Ukrainian military recruits since 2022. Until now, NATO countries avoided sending troops into Ukraine directly, wary of drawing personnel into combat with Russia.
But this possible shift to training inside Ukraine signals a bold escalation in London’s commitment to Ukraine’s defence at a critical moment in the conflict.
