British troops will be deployed to Ukraine in the next few weeks to train soldiers fighting Russian separatists, David Cameron said yesterday, as he warned of “deeply damaging” consequences for the whole of Europe if the EU fails to stand up to Vladimir Putin.

Up to 75 military personnel will take part in the six-month mission, which will include medical, intelligence, logistics and infantry training to complement the range of “non-lethal” equipment Britain has already supplied, the Prime Minister said.

Mr Cameron told the Commons Liaison Committee that the UK was “not at the stage” of supplying lethal equipment – but refused to rule out further support.

He added that the Government would be ready to give the BBC more funding to counter Russian-backed propaganda.

“I think we need to do more, frankly, in the area of information. One of the complaints we get from the Baltic states is there is nothing to counter the deluge of Russian-paid and backed media spreading disinformation,” he said.