LONDON, October 1. /TASS/. The UK Defense Ministry is considering the possibility of deploying British servicemen on the territory of Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen and officers, the country’s top defense official Grant Shapps told the Telegraph.

"I was talking today [with General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of the General Staff, and other senior defense officials] about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well. Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things ‘in country’, and not just training but also we’re seeing BAE [a UK defence company], for example, move into manufacturing in country, for example. I’m keen to see other British companies do their bit as well by doing the same thing. So I think there will be a move to get more training and production in the country," Shapps said.

The minister, who has been in office August 31, said that he had discussed these possibilities with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky during his visit to Kiev on September 27. The top defense official also said that the UK, together with other NATO countries, should work to improve interoperability with the Ukrainian military and prepare it for membership in the alliance.

According to the Telegraph, so far none of the NATO countries has openly implemented such steps, preferring to train the Ukrainian military outside Ukraine in order to minimize the risks for the Western military, whose deaths could become a reason for escalation of the conflict.