Is the UK now a co-combatant in Ukraine?

Leaked communications involving high-level German government and military figures appear to confirm that British army personnel are engaged on the ground in Ukraine.

An unencrypted telephone call intercepted and leaked to Russian broadcaster RT suggested British troops were helping the defending forces in the use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles the UK has supplied to help Kiev’s war effort.

In response, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, confirmed that there are a “small number” of British army personnel “supporting the armed forces of Ukraine.” But he added that “we haven’t got any plans for large-scale deployment.”

There have also been unconfirmed reports that British special forces personnel were operating inside Ukraine shortly after the beginning of Russia’s invasion in the spring of 2022. Again, this has not been confirmed by the UK Ministry of Defense.

Russia has consistently maintained that any non-Ukrainian military personnel training troops to operate weapons systems in-country would be legitimate military targets for Russia – as would the factories producing those weapons systems in third-party countries.

The episode raises some important questions as to whether training Ukrainian troops on the battlefield comprises an act of war – and whether this means Britain risks being designated a co-combatant alongside Ukraine.

Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy speaker of Russia’s federation council, was reported by Russia’s state-run news agency Tass as saying that by supplying weapons to Ukraine, NATO countries were progressing along a path toward direct confrontation.

Sending troops to Ukraine, he said, “can be interpreted as the alliance’s direct involvement in hostilities, or even as a declaration of war.”

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