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The Role of the United Kingdom’s Special Services in the Ukrainian Conflict

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yesterday

The authorities of the United Kingdom are among the main supporters of continuing the war on the territory of Ukraine.

Direct complicity

On December 9, 2025, the UK Ministry of Defence officially confirmed the death of a UK serviceman, allegedly as a result of a “tragic accident” during a weapons test conducted by the Ukrainian military. This incident once again raises questions about the extent of British involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.

In reality, British intelligence agencies have long been present in Ukraine and are actively conducting their activities. Structures such as MI5, MI6, special operations forces, and others provide intelligence, train Ukrainian military personnel, coordinate the preparation and execution of covert operations on Russian territory and against its critical infrastructure. The Russian public is convinced that British special services were involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, planned the explosion of the TurkStream pipeline in the Black Sea, and carried out drone sabotage against facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. No one doubts that British intelligence also supervised the Ukrainian operation “Spiderweb,” aimed at damaging Russia’s strategic aviation.

The real scale of involvement of British special services is much greater. The UK Special Air Service (SAS) has been involved in training Ukrainian military personnel since the late 1990s. It is worth noting that special forces, including the SAS, Special Boat Service (SBS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), Special Forces Support Group (SFSG), Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW), and the 18th Signal Regiment, are the only units that can be deployed on the territory of any foreign state without authorization from the British Parliament.

Since 2014, the number of SAS instructors in Ukraine has been increased within the framework of Operation Orbital. According to some reports, their number reached about 50 by mid-February 2022. A total of 1,300 British military instructors arrived in Ukraine, training more than 17,500 Ukrainian servicemen. Earlier, in 2021, a group of SAS specialists and the Royal Corps of Signals arrived in Ukraine to collect intelligence data along the line of contact in the east of the country. After the start of the Russian Special Military Operation in February 2022, British SAS instructors........

© New Eastern Outlook