Ukraine crisis: British trainers assist Ukrainian military

British military personnel have begun training members of the Ukrainian army fighting pro-Russian rebels, the BBC has learned.

The 35 trainers are working in the southern city of Mykolaiv and will spend about two months in the country.

They will be training forces engaged in battles in eastern Ukraine in medicine and defensive tactics, and supplying non-lethal equipment.

The deal was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron last month.

It is the first time a Western nation has conducted a long-term military training programme in Ukraine since its war against pro-Russian rebels began last year.

Ceasefire
A ceasefire took effect on 15 February following an agreement reached in Minsk, Belarus, and has largely held despite sporadic shelling.

The British government is also supplying first aid kits, sleeping bags and night-vision goggles as part of its pledge to provide assistance.

More British teams are expected to arrive in Ukraine over the coming weeks, but the deployment of dozens of military instructors is a symbolic move that will not alter the military balance of this war, BBC correspondent Tom Burridge said.

The United States has already said it is planning to send a battalion to train three Ukrainian battalions.

More than 6,000 people have died since the fighting in Ukraine erupted last April, the UN has estimated, although the organisation believes the real figure could be considerably higher.

Map showing the battle lines in eastern Ukraine.