“The challenge we face in the air and at sea is twofold,” they added. “Our kit is much more difficult to use and takes more time to learn. This is very different from training infantry in tanks.”
Since July, British sailors have been training Ukrainians to operate Sandown-class minehunters. Although they were given two ships as a gift, one source indicated that Turkey might deny them access to Ukraine through the Bosphorus.
“At sea, we have a problem that we cannot deliver the kit even to the Black Sea,” they added.
The source insisted that the Royal Air Force and Navy are “supporting the Ukrainian Navy and Air Force, but we are trying to save enough space.”
“The vital combat capability of the army has been restored”
However, a source in the army also pointed to recent strikes, in which mostly soldiers drawn from the armed forces provided cover for the striking NHS, firefighters and border guards, as an example of the government’s overdependence on the army.
This comes after General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, recently warned that a British donation of tanks to Ukraine would leave the British Army, due to be cut by 10,000 troops, “temporarily weaker” and leave a “gap”. in our arsenal.”
In a video posted on the DoD intranet, Sir Patrick acknowledged that while Ukraine needs supplies, “it is vital that we rebuild and upgrade the army at a pace to increase our combat capability.”
Ahead of the government’s Comprehensive Defense, Foreign and Security Policy Update, due to be released soon, Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defense Select Committee, warned that army morale is already “gloomy.”
“The latest integrated review has been heavily focused on sea and air power, including aircraft carriers and F35 jets, with a drastic reduction in our ground forces and equipment,” he said.
“However, the burden of responsibility during Covid, public sector strikes, and now support for Ukraine, including increased support for NATO, falls on the shoulders of the army.”
“Insufficiently equipped”
Mr Ellwood added that as the UK sends Challenger II tanks to Ukraine, “there is a growing realization that the sorry state of our own ground forces cannot be properly addressed.”
