By Sam Read and Helen Burchell
BBC News, East
Feb 24, 2024
Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers are being trained by allied forces at a specially constructed combat-training camp in a secret location in the East of England.
Operation Interflex is the code name given to the UK Armed Forces’ training programme, which has been created to develop and prepare Ukrainian recruits to fight their country’s Russian invaders.
“The will to win of the Ukrainians is coming through [and] is as strong as ever it was”, says Col James Thurston, the British Army commander who is leading the operation.
Some of those involved have spoken to the BBC as the war continues.
L/Cpl Biggs, 29, who is originally from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, is serving with the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment.
He is working with military colleagues from Australia to train Ukrainian soldiers in a mock village built in the secret location in East Anglia.
“Their job is pretty much to clear [the village] – building by building,” he says.
The five-week training course is “definitely hard and fast”, he adds.
Military personnel from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania and the Netherlands are working on the operation, which is taking place across several locations in the UK.
“The training we are delivering is definitely beneficial, and is making an impact when they get back [to Ukraine], because they are highly trained and [will be] able to fight all the better,” he adds.
‘Our spirit is strong’
Ihora, which is not his real name, has been a serving soldier in Ukraine for 10 years and before coming to the UK had been “taking part in freeing Kharkiv Oblast region”, he says.
He adds that he and his colleagues have “only positive experiences” from the training so far.
While he has “very extensive previous experience”, Ihora says the “most beneficial” parts of the course involve “urban working… as well as clearing trenches”.
Speaking about his relatives back home, he says: “I worry for my family, however our national spirit is very strong and we got together as a nation – and we do believe [in] the victory – and we’re moving forward towards it.”
‘Wolves are at the door’
Sgt May has been in the British Army for 11 years, and is currently running the platoon sergeants’ battle course as part of Operation Interflex.
Sgt May, 31, who is originally from Newmarket, Suffolk, served in Afghanistan and has since trained army personnel from around the world.
The training course is “incredibly important”, he says.
“The Ukrainians, in a matter of weeks, are going to go back to the front line – so anything we can do to help is good.”
He adds: “The wolves [are] at their door already, so the realism shows that each and every one of them is willing to learn the tactics that we are implementing.”
‘We feel the support’
Anastiia, who is from Ukraine, is in the UK working as a military interpreter.
“First of all, in general, we feel your support,” she says.
“We feel the support of the outside world. So, this is helpful and when we are back to Ukraine, we will stay with the feeling.
“And as for a practical side of course, it’s a good chance to develop [our] tactical judgement. Those skills are really precious for us.”
‘Putin’s objective has failed’
Col James Thurston, who is the commander of the operation, says: “It’s an incredibly rewarding task and I’m really honoured to be the mission commander.
“But more importantly for Ukraine – and it is important for a number of reasons – at the strategic level, President Putin’s objective was to divide the West and split us apart.
“What you see here on Operation Interflex is nations that have come together to work collaboratively to train Ukraine.
“That coming together shows that Putin has failed in that strategic objective.”
He adds: “What I’d say is the mindset, the mentality, and the will to win of the Ukrainians is coming through [and] is as strong as ever it was.”
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“Their job is pretty much to clear [the village] – building by building,”
That can occasionally be helpful, for counterattacks, but much more important right now would be teaining in modern trench warfare, includibg drone awareness and counter measures. I’m concerned that Nato trainers may be decades behind the curve, getting soldiers ready to clean up Iraqui villages, when the reality at the Ukrainian front is much different. I’d like to see the AFU sending disabled veterans to Nato units, to teach their experiences there. That would be very helpful for everybody involved, since knowledge shouldn’t be a one way street!
ZSU trainers are fully involved.
It’s a British initiative, nothing to do with Nato. British soldiers and trainers have been in Ukraine since 2014 and Ukrainian soldiers and officers have been in the UK since 2014.
All training is designed specifically to meet Ukrainian needs.
I asked my friend who runs a private charity helping the frontline back in 2016 if the training is helpful and she told me the Ukrainian officers are incredibly grateful for the help they received. Every time the annual agreement renewal came up, they requested them to continue for them.
52,000 Ukrainian solders have been UK-trained since 2015 and 30,000 since putler’s vile holocaust.
That’s important information that’s missing in this BBC report (which is too onesided for my liking), thank you, Scradge1! I do think it’s very important for the West to benefit from the AFU’s experiences, an arrogant rejection of the insights gained in bloody fighting, by the most battle hardened soldiers in democratic Europe, would be incredibly stupid. Uh, do you happen to have a link available to a story that tells us more about this exchange of experiences?
In what way is the BBC one-sided?
I have long standing ZSU primary source contacts apart from my friend, but they are not allowed to give much raw info to me of course. I am the Godfather of a serving officer’s child.
Maybe it’s only my impression, Scradge1, but it seemed to me that the BBC arrogantly painted it as if the experience exchange can only be one way, from the professional British soldiers to the ‘needy’ Ukrainian ones. Please note that they interviewed the translator Ihira, a veteran with “very extensive previous experience” from fighting the Russians for ten years, but apparently only to fish for compliments for the training course. Otherwise, they seemed utterly desinterested in asking him if he had been able to share his vast knowledge with the instructors. That’s not exactly the exchange of experiences that would benefit Western defence forces. Rather looks like a one-way-street to me.
I also checked on Nato’s webpages for info if they are interested and engaged in learning from the AFU. Lots of stuff about bureaucratic brouhaha there, the consolidation of standards and the like, but only the “Operational Capabilities Concept Evaluation and Feedback Programme” appears to be about tactical experiences. I can only hope that this is a truely cooperative effort, not simply ‘top down’.
British servicemen have learned to respect greatly the fighting spirit and determination of Ukraine soldiers. The respect is mutual. If ordered to, I am sure that British soldiers would be happy to fight alongside their Ukrainian brothers in arms.
Which is somewhat in contrast to the feelings about their French counterparts, where mutual disrespect is the norm.
The BBC has zero patriotism, being effectively the media wing of The Labour Party. Whenever possible it employs crypto-Marxist Cambridge graduates who have litle or no regard for the armed forces.
I know two trainers in Britain, who work with Ukrainian troops, and they confided in me that there is great mutual respect between the Ukrainian and British troops. There is a real camaraderie!
That’s great, Mr. Ofp, and what I expect from soldiers who have been in battle (even though in different wars), but the question is rather, what are the higher ranks, army leadership, doing to gather and use the vast experience of the AFU in modern warfare? That’s where I see deficiencies and Western arrogance.
Just think of the effing monday morning quarterbacking by some Pentagon generals. They wouldn’t know how to fight under the conditions the AFU is facing every single day, but still feel superior and pose on their high horses! That’s shameful and embarassing.
As with every new development in military strategies and tactics, there are those generals who refuse to accept the new ones and others who can’t get the new ones adopted quick enough. This happened with tanks, by the way, with Guderian fighting windmills at first when some old generals thought that horse cavalry were still relevant.
Indeed, so true, and a good example, Mr. Ofp!
👋🙂👍
Great to hear. 👍