Health officials did not seek to block the arrangement, which was ‘hugely appreciated’ by Kyiv’s troops to keep up morale

Charles Hymas,  HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR

21 April 2024

Ukrainian soldiers trained in the UK were given free cigarettes under a deal brokered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), despite the dangers of smoking.

The arrangement allowed tobacco donated to the troops to be imported duty free as part of their rations.

It came after complaints from the soldiers that cigarettes were too expensive in the UK and in too short supply at the training bases to meet their needs.

A pack of 20 cigarettes in Ukraine costs £1.70, compared with the UK’s price of £15.67 since last December.

The deal was facilitated by Ben Wallace, the then defence secretary, working with Oleksii Reznikov, his Ukrainian counterpart, amid claims that the cigarette shortages were impeding the soldiers’ ability to concentrate on their training and posed a risk to morale from the lack of “creature comforts”.

The deal was arranged shortly after the first Ukrainians arrived for training in the summer of 2022, but has been disclosed only now, just days after Rishi Sunak secured the second reading of his Bill to ban smoking for an entire generation of young people.

Cigarettes given to soldiers as part of rations

Mr Wallace and his aides smoothed the duty implications with the Treasury and cleared the legal risks with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which leads on the Government’s public health campaigns to reduce smoking.

The cigarettes were donated by an international tobacco firm and given to the soldiers as part of their rations. They were also offered healthier alternatives such as vapes and nicotine pouches and advice on the risks of smoking. Sources stressed no cigarettes were offered to non-smoking Ukrainians.

One source familiar with the deal said: “It is fair to say that smoking is going to be less of a threat to these brave soldiers’ lives than fighting Putin’s illegal invasion of their country.”

A Ukrainian government source told The Telegraph: “It was a very long and complicated bureaucratic process but we did it. It was hugely appreciated by our soldiers.”

The MoD’s Operation Interflex, which has so far trained 60,000 Ukrainian military personnel, was launched in July 2022 with the first soldiers dispatched to several bases across the UK. In March, tobacco giant Philip Morris, which has plants in Ukraine, had donated 500,000 packs of cigarettes to the Ukrainian military.

The cigarettes donated to the soldiers training in the UK came from another, unnamed big tobacco firm but there were concerns within the MoD about whether the importation of them would accrue duty, which is currently £394 per 1,000 cigarettes.

Mr Wallace had experienced “first hand” the frustrations of the Ukrainian soldiers over the cost and paucity of cigarettes on their bases, said a source.

“They smoke at higher levels than us. Not only were cigarettes in the UK too expensive but there were not enough of them in the camps where they had to stay,” said the source. “It was reported up the chain of command that there were concentration and creature comfort issues as a blocker to progress on training.”

DHSC did not seek to block deal

Mr Wallace received assurances from the Treasury that it was legitimate under the rules for the cigarettes to be imported duty free as rations for a strategically important military operation.

It mirrors the Second World War, when 75 per cent of UK soldiers were smokers and would receive a four-pack of cigarettes along with matches in each of their rations.

The MoD also took advice from the DHSC’s legal department on the legal risks of the proposed arrangement. It is not known what the legal advice recommended, as it is custom for it to remain secret, but DHSC sources insisted the department did not seek to block the deal despite its public health responsibilities to cut smoking.

An MoD spokesman said: “The UK has trained over 60,000 Ukrainian personnel, providing them with the battlefield skills they need to fight Putin’s illegal invasion.

“Ukrainian recruits who were existing smokers could access cigarettes as part of their supplied ration packs. No public money was spent on cigarettes, and we ensured that healthier nicotine alternatives and advice were available.”

A source added: “Ben Wallace was absolutely determined that the Ukrainians got all the help and support they needed.”