A successor, Operation Interflex, which involves a larger, British-led multinational training programme, was launched in the United Kingdom soon after.

[2][1] In 2014, protests and a revolution broke out in Ukraine following the Ukrainian government's decision to foster closer ties to Russia, as opposed to the European Union.

This unrest resulted in the removal of the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and the installation of a new pro-Western government led by Petro Poroshenko.

In response to this, pro-Russian counter demonstrations took place in parts of Ukraine, mainly within the Donetsk and Luhansk (Donbas) regions in the country's east and within the Crimean Peninsula.

In February 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the UK was deploying 30 troops to Ukraine to help train the Ukrainian military in medical, logistical, intelligence and infantry skills.

[3] The aim of this training mission, under the code-name Operation Orbital, was to increase the capacity of the Ukrainian military to help it better defend Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Training focused on infantry, medical, logistical, counter-IED, leadership, planning and maritime (diving, firefighting, damage control and sea surveillance) skills.

[7] In September 2020, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that the UK was expanding its support to include a maritime training initiative, which saw Royal Navy personnel providing maritime training and support to Ukraine, alongside naval personnel from Sweden, Canada and Denmark.

[4] To further support the aims of Operation Orbital, the UK and Ukraine reinforced their ties through joint training opportunities on land, sea and in the air.

[13] The UK helped reinforce NATO's eastern flank by doubling its presence in Estonia, and by dispatching ships to the Mediterranean and additional jets to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.