Britain's Secret Role in Ukraine: Troop Deployments and Missile Integration

A new report by The Times has revealed that Britain’s military involvement in Ukraine has been far deeper and more covert than previously acknowledged, including designing battle plans, sharing real-time intelligence, and even deploying troops inside Ukrainian territory to provide technical support and weapons training.

The article cites unnamed British and Ukrainian military officials and describes multiple instances throughout 2022 and 2023 in which small UK military teams entered Ukraine, often operating discreetly to avoid provoking Russia.

One of the primary missions highlighted was the fitting of Ukrainian aircraft with British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, as well as training Ukrainian pilots and ground crews on how to use them.

the report states, noting that such operations occurred under strict secrecy.

Beyond Arms: Britain’s Deep Military Role

Since 2015, the UK has been supplying NLAW anti-tank missiles to Ukraine and training local forces in their use. Although British troops were officially pulled from the country ahead of the February 2022 escalation, the worsening battlefield situation led to quiet redeployments for technical missions throughout the conflict, according to The Times.

The report also states that London played a central role in Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive, including mediating disputes between Kiev and Washington when the operation failed to meet expectations.

Behind the scenes, Ukrainian officials reportedly referred to British military leadership as the “brains” of the so-called anti-Putin coalition, with former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace even being nicknamed “the man who saved Kiev.”

NATO Presence and Moscow’s Accusations

Although NATO countries have repeatedly denied deploying combat troops to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials have claimed the opposite, accusing the West of using Ukraine as a proxy and deploying foreign “mercenaries” to operate complex weapons systems.

British and French personnel have previously been linked to missile launch preparation, a claim acknowledged by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who cited such involvement as the reason Berlin refrained from supplying long-range systems.

According to The Times, American personnel limited their presence in Ukraine, out of fear it would be seen as too direct an engagement, whereas British officials were granted broader freedom, sometimes visiting in civilian clothesto avoid detection.

Parallel to U.S. Involvement

The revelations come weeks after a New York Times investigation exposed the Biden administration’s “open secret” role in coordinating battlefield strategy, providing real-time intelligence, and jointly planning operations with Ukraine’s military—far beyond official statements of material support.

Moscow views such reports as confirmation that the Ukraine conflict is a Western-orchestrated confrontation, rather than a standalone war between neighboring states.