UK to send 3,500 first aid kits to Ukrainian Armed Forces
AP
The UK is to send 3,500 first aid kits to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said.
The supplies were requested by Ukraine, which has been in conflict with pro-Russian separatists since Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014.
Mr Fallon said the kits, worth nearly £500,000, would be gifted in April in time for Britain to begin the next year of its training for Ukrainian troops.
Ukraine's armed forces "face a chronic shortage of basic equipment", he said.
'Urgent need'
In a written ministerial statement, Mr Fallon said: "This gift meets a specific Ukrainian request for assistance in alleviating medical casualties, often severely wounded.
"The UAF urgently need individual first aid kits and have continued to request them from allies."
British military personnel have already been training members of the Ukrainian army and have been sent to the Baltic region, with the aim of deterring Russian aggression beyond Ukraine.
Mr Fallon said the UK had previously gifted first aid kits on several occasions in 2015.
The UK has also previously sent the Ukrainian army tents and winter clothing.
The first aid kits will be transported by military aircraft.
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