Britain has trained more than 42,000 Ukrainian soldiers since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022. But the UK’s Audit Office says this intensive military aid is now coming at the expense of its own armed forces.
A quarter of the training capacity will be used for the programme for Ukrainian recruits, known as Operation Interflex, a recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found. Requests from British units for time on military training grounds were rejected eight times more often in 2023 than in 2019. “The Ministry of Defence has recognised that Interflex will limit the British Army’s ability to train its own soldiers,” the NAO said.
British soldiers move to the Netherlands
The training of Ukrainian marines had already been moved to the Netherlands earlier this year because the use of facilities in Britain threatened to jeopardise the training needs of the Royal Marines.
Ukrainians criticize shortcomings in training
According to the information, 89 percent of Ukrainian soldiers trained in Britain feel better prepared for combat operations. According to the NAO, there was criticism of the lack of training in the use and control of drones. The reason for this is military and civilian flight restrictions in Britain.
The Court of Audit also published information on arms transfers: Britain has so far supplied Ukraine with £171.5 million (around €203 million) worth of weapons and equipment from its own stocks. The Ministry of Defence expects to receive £2.71 billion in the 2030/31 financial year.
Source: Krone
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