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Operation Orbital
Operation Orbital was the code-name for a British military operation to train and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was launched in 2015 in response to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. It provided training to over 22,000 Ukrainian military personnel before it was suspended ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A successor, Operation Interflex, which involves a larger, British-led multinational training programme, was launched in the United Kingdom soon after.
In 2014, protests and a revolution broke out in Ukraine following the Ukrainian government's decision to foster closer ties to Russia, as opposed to the European Union. This unrest resulted in the removal of the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and the installation of a new pro-Western government led by Petro Poroshenko. In response to this, pro-Russian counter demonstrations took place in parts of Ukraine, mainly within the Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbas) regions in the country's east and within the Crimean Peninsula. Russia began supporting pro-Russian separatists in their conflict against Ukraine, which ignited a Russo-Ukrainian War. Between February and March 2014, Russia also invaded and annexed Crimea. This action was condemned by Ukraine, the UK, the EU, NATO and the US as a violation of international law. The UK coordinated with its Western allies to impose economic sanctions against Russia.
In February 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the UK was deploying 30 troops to Ukraine to help train the Ukrainian military in medical, logistical, intelligence and infantry skills. This preceded a larger programme of training provided by up to 75 troops. These troops were rotated every two months, with command and control rotating every six months. The aim of this training mission, under the code-name Operation Orbital, was to increase the capacity of the Ukrainian military to help it better defend Ukraine's territorial integrity. It ran concurrently with training missions of other countries which were part of the Joint Multinational Training Group — Ukraine (JMTG-U).
The UK's training mission took place away from the conflict zones of the east and involved around 100 UK military personnel at a time, primarily from the British Army, working as Short Term Training Teams (STTTs). These teams were coordinated and led by HQ staff based in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Training focused on infantry, medical, logistical, counter-IED, leadership, planning and maritime (diving, firefighting, damage control and sea surveillance) skills.
In 2018, the UK expanded the scope of Operation Orbital to include maritime training provided by teams of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel. During the same year, members of 3rd Battalion, The Rifles (3 RIFLES) were among those involved with providing training.
In November 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced it had trained approximately 17,500 Ukrainian military personnel. It also announced a three-year extension to the operation.
The operation was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic which began in 2019. This suspension was lifted by August 2020. In September 2020, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that the UK was expanding its support to include a maritime training initiative, which saw Royal Navy personnel providing maritime training and support to Ukraine, alongside naval personnel from Sweden, Canada and Denmark.
To further support the aims of Operation Orbital, the UK and Ukraine reinforced their ties through joint training opportunities on land, sea and in the air. One of these training exercises — Exercise Joint Endeavour — involved the UK airdropping 250 paratroopers from the British Army's 16 Air Assault Brigade into Ukraine. They were flown directly from the UK within three days in the UK's largest parachute drop in over a decade. Ukrainian paratroopers from the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade took part in the exercise.
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Operation Orbital
Operation Orbital was the code-name for a British military operation to train and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was launched in 2015 in response to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. It provided training to over 22,000 Ukrainian military personnel before it was suspended ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A successor, Operation Interflex, which involves a larger, British-led multinational training programme, was launched in the United Kingdom soon after.
In 2014, protests and a revolution broke out in Ukraine following the Ukrainian government's decision to foster closer ties to Russia, as opposed to the European Union. This unrest resulted in the removal of the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and the installation of a new pro-Western government led by Petro Poroshenko. In response to this, pro-Russian counter demonstrations took place in parts of Ukraine, mainly within the Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbas) regions in the country's east and within the Crimean Peninsula. Russia began supporting pro-Russian separatists in their conflict against Ukraine, which ignited a Russo-Ukrainian War. Between February and March 2014, Russia also invaded and annexed Crimea. This action was condemned by Ukraine, the UK, the EU, NATO and the US as a violation of international law. The UK coordinated with its Western allies to impose economic sanctions against Russia.
In February 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the UK was deploying 30 troops to Ukraine to help train the Ukrainian military in medical, logistical, intelligence and infantry skills. This preceded a larger programme of training provided by up to 75 troops. These troops were rotated every two months, with command and control rotating every six months. The aim of this training mission, under the code-name Operation Orbital, was to increase the capacity of the Ukrainian military to help it better defend Ukraine's territorial integrity. It ran concurrently with training missions of other countries which were part of the Joint Multinational Training Group — Ukraine (JMTG-U).
The UK's training mission took place away from the conflict zones of the east and involved around 100 UK military personnel at a time, primarily from the British Army, working as Short Term Training Teams (STTTs). These teams were coordinated and led by HQ staff based in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Training focused on infantry, medical, logistical, counter-IED, leadership, planning and maritime (diving, firefighting, damage control and sea surveillance) skills.
In 2018, the UK expanded the scope of Operation Orbital to include maritime training provided by teams of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel. During the same year, members of 3rd Battalion, The Rifles (3 RIFLES) were among those involved with providing training.
In November 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced it had trained approximately 17,500 Ukrainian military personnel. It also announced a three-year extension to the operation.
The operation was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic which began in 2019. This suspension was lifted by August 2020. In September 2020, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that the UK was expanding its support to include a maritime training initiative, which saw Royal Navy personnel providing maritime training and support to Ukraine, alongside naval personnel from Sweden, Canada and Denmark.
To further support the aims of Operation Orbital, the UK and Ukraine reinforced their ties through joint training opportunities on land, sea and in the air. One of these training exercises — Exercise Joint Endeavour — involved the UK airdropping 250 paratroopers from the British Army's 16 Air Assault Brigade into Ukraine. They were flown directly from the UK within three days in the UK's largest parachute drop in over a decade. Ukrainian paratroopers from the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade took part in the exercise.