UK commando who trained Ukrainian troops dies during exercise

A British Army commando who was involved in training Ukrainian and Afghan forces died last week in Wales, officials have announced.

Corporal Christopher Gill, who was a member of the 4th Battalion of the Ranger Regiment, died last Wednesday during a military exercise in the Crickhowell area of Powys county, according to local law enforcement. Dyfed-Powys Police are jointly investigating the incident with the Health and Safety Executive, the force said in a statement to the press.

The Ministry of Defense (MOD) confirmed Gill’s death last Friday, saying it was caused by a non-operational incident in Brecon. The Barracks, a historic military base that serves as HQ for the British Army’s 160th Brigade, is located in the town.

Gill was a remarkable soldier and a natural leader, according to a statement from the MOD. He joined the army in 2011 and served in Afghanistan, where he and “a small, close-knit team” of military personnel provided training to the forces of the Western-backed national government of the time.

He later was stationed in Belize, the US, Kenya, and Morocco, before volunteering in 2021 for Army Special Operations, according to his bio. In that capacity, he contributed to the training of Ukrainian soldiers on British soil to fight Russia.

The Barracks in Brecon operates an infantry fighting school which prepares soldiers and officers for “high-intensity, light-role war fighting” during “conventional war, counter insurgency, security sector reform, peacekeeping or supporting civil authorities,” according to the British Army’s website. Ukrainian troops have received training at the facility.

The military base had faced potential closure by 2024, but the MOD in 2021 decided to keep it operational.

The UK has been one of Ukraine’s key backers in its confrontation with Russia. Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly convinced the Ukrainian government not to seek a truce with Moscow in 2022 and to pursue a military victory instead. The UK has on several occasions been the first donor of new military capabilities for Ukraine, such as main battle tanks and long-range missiles, which prompted other Western nations to provide similar weapons.

Moscow considers the Ukraine conflict to be a Western proxy war against Russia, in which Ukrainian troops serve as ‘cannon fodder’.