The UK government has revealed that a British soldier was killed in Ukraine while testing an air defence system, in a tacit admission that London has troops on the ground in the war-torn country.
The Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that Lance Corporal George Hooley was killed on Tuesday in Ukraine.
“It is with sadness that we must confirm that the member of the He was 28 years old. Our thoughts are with Lance Corporal Hooley’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,” the MoD said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the paratrooper died after being “injured in a tragic accident away from the front lines while observing Ukrainian forces testing a new defensive capability.”
According to The Times of London, Hooley was not a member of Britain’s Special Forces. While never confirmed, it has been widely understood that the UK and other major Western powers, such as the United States, have Special Forces operating in the country.
However, it is the first time that the British government has acknowledged having regular troops within Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion and indeed the first announced death of an armed service member in the country.
Prime Minister Starmer has said that the UK would be willing to send its military to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia to act as a so-called “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force.
The idea of NATO troops being deployed to Ukraine, an idea championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, has been met with resistance from Moscow, with the Kremlin claiming that such a move would represent an escalation in the proxy war between the West and Russia.
Concerns have also been raised that the effective trip wire of Western troops in Ukraine could trigger a full on hot conflict between the two nuclear-armed sides.
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