British instructors have trained over 5,000 troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2015," UK Dсfense Secretary Michael Fallon has said.

This was discussed at the meeting of Fallon with Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak, the website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

"UK has directly trained over 5,000 members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, 1,000 more than initially targeted, sending a clear message that we are committed to supporting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. As the UK is stepping up across the world, we are standing side by side with our Ukrainian friends," Fallon said.

He said this comes as the UK prepares to refine Operation Orbital’s training model through increasing the focus on 'Train-the-Trainer' as well as mentoring and advising,

"We expect this change to increase the operation’s impact on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ training sustainability over the coming year," he said

As is known, training programs for Ukrainian military personnel by British instructors, in particular on the identification of mines and improvised explosive devices, medical assistance and logistics, will take place until the beginning of 2018.