OOOpppss....
by Pierre-Alain Depauw
U.S. General Bryan Fenton told the Associated Press that the United States was “learning a lot” from British special forces in Ukraine.
The British Ministry of Defense declined to comment on this information. The information was later removed by the news agency.
In an interview given to theAssociated Press (AP) Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), discussed plans to restructure Green Beret teams based on lessons learned from British special forces in Ukraine.
The blunder: an admission the British could have done without
«A detachment of 12 people could be reinforcedsaid Fenton, explaining that as warfare becomes more high-tech, teams may need a cyber expert.
General Fenton made a big blunder by declaring that these were "lessons learned from the experience in Ukraine, mainly through the eyes of our British special operations partners, who not only did this in their trainings, but also learned very quickly that they needed other elements of their joint force».
General Fenton quietly explained that British commandos needed advice from Royal Air Force pilots on drone operations and naval personnel "to help them understand, more than a SOF (special operations forces) teammate, how a ship navigates the Black Sea».
There was already much speculation about the secret presence of Western troops in Ukraine. Rumors circulated about the presence of British and French soldiers. But this time it's an unintentional admission from a high-level source.
British silence and censorship of the press dispatch
In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense refused to react, limiting himself to this ready-made formula: “It has been a long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment on British special forces". TheAssociated Press then censored his dispatch, eliminating General Fenton's comments referring to British special forces.
The United Kingdom's special forces comprise several elite units, including the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, the 18 Signal Regiment and the Special Forces Aviation Wing.
The Royal Marine Commandos and Ranger Regiment also include forces capable of special operations.
Ukrainian commanders had already declared to the Times in April 2022 that special forces were in Ukraine training Ukrainian recruits on UK-supplied anti-tank missiles, known as NLAW.
A senior European defense official told the Financial Times in February : "Everyone knows there are Western special forces in Ukraine – they just haven't officially recognized it».
On the other hand, the radical idea of officially sending Western troops to Ukraine was launched by French President Emmanuel Macron. Addressing The Economist, At the end of April, Macron said he would consider sending troops “if the Russians managed to break through the front lines" or "if there was a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today».
Russia, for its part, has already issued harsh warnings in response to Macron's comments, saying that troops sent to Ukraine would suffer the same fate as Napoleon's army, which lost more than 300 men during its invasion of Ukraine. Russia in 000.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week, Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian prime minister, also claimed that Russia would use nuclear weapons against Western states if NATO sent troops to Ukraine.
Source (s): Media-Press-Info via Réseau International
