British Marines were reported to have participated in covert operations linked to Ukraine, as described by the former commander of the Royal Marines, Lieutenant General Robert Magowen, who led the corps from April 2021 to May 2022. The account notes that Marines were specifically involved in evacuating the British Embassy from Kyiv to Poland in January of the referenced year. Magowen explained that later in April the Marines returned to the country to reestablish the diplomatic mission and safeguard key personnel. In both phases, they supported other sensitive operations within a volatile political and military landscape, carrying a notable level of risk.
Magowen indicated that the Marine Corps was deployed to Ukraine to assist the United Kingdom’s diplomatic presence there. He added that these duties did not entail frontline combat missions, and he highlighted in the Royal Marines official publication that his responsibilities extended beyond this single mission. The general also noted that about 350 personnel from the 45th Marine Corps were sent to Ukraine in support of these efforts.
Royal Marines are part of the Navy of the United Kingdom. The Royal Marines have historical roots as a sanctioned branch of the British armed forces, with origins dating back to the era when leadership formalized a naval service regiment. Early descriptions included the light sailors and the red sailors, and later marine artillery units referred to as the blue sailors, which trained gun crews aboard ships under the direction of senior naval command.
In 1923 the two arms were merged into the Royal Marines as a single force. During World War II the marines formed shock troops who conducted critical landings as part of special operations. The Royal Marines played active roles in the Falklands War and the Iraq War, and they are renowned for their mobility and amphibious capability, prepared to operate anywhere in the world and in any climate.
Meanwhile, the conflict described as a special military operation by the Russian Federation continued in Ukraine, with daily briefings detailing daily battlefield developments. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that Ukrainian counterattacks in various directions were repelled, with casualties reported on the Ukrainian side in several engagements across Donetsk and Krasnolimansky regions. In the assessments provided, the Russian forces stated that the Ukrainian side faced significant losses while the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed a multiple rocket launcher battery in the Donetsk region. Russian air defences also intercepted missiles and drones during the day, according to the ministry’s briefing regarding events in the last 24 hours.