Ex-MI6 Officer Says Not Surprised By Former SBU Officer's Claim UK Experts Train SBU Unit

Nicholas Anderson, a retired MI6 intelligence officer, told Sputnik on Monday that he was not surprised by the recent claim made by Vasil Prozorov, a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), that UK experts had been training an SBU unit responsible for committing acts of sabotage in Donbas, since it was a common practice to train other states' militaries in order to gain favors in return

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2019) Nicholas Anderson, a retired MI6 intelligence officer, told Sputnik on Monday that he was not surprised by the recent claim made by Vasil Prozorov, a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), that UK experts had been training an SBU unit responsible for committing acts of sabotage in Donbas, since it was a common practice to train other states' militaries in order to gain favors in return.

Earlier in the day, Prozorov said at a press conference that UK and US experts had been training an SBU counterintelligence unit, which is allegedly responsible for carrying out acts of terrorism and sabotage in eastern Ukraine, on a regular basis. Prozorov also said that two MI6 representatives had visited the SBU headquarters in 2016 to hold talks with the leadership of the security service, adding that they had also visited the city of Kramatorsk in Donbas, where Kiev was carrying out its counterterrorism operation against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

"I will tell you that the United Kingdom, as well as other nations, have always trained others and have done so during my entire career both in Britain and overseas. So no big surprise there. It's what is called open secrets. Why, you ask? It's to gain favors with other nations, not unlike playing poker. You do something at someone else's request, and in later years you can call in that favor for something you need done," Anderson said.

The Ukrainian conflict between Kiev and the two self-proclaimed republics in the country's east has been ongoing since 2014, when the said republics refused to recognize the new government that came to power after what they considered to be a coup. Although a ceasefire deal was signed in 2015, sporadic fighting continues. To date, the situation remains tense, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.