The UK has reached a major milestone in its military support for Ukraine, with over 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained on British soil under Operation Interflex, the Ministry of Defence announced on the 1,000th day since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
This multinational training effort, supported by 12 allied nations, reflects the UK’s commitment to bolstering Ukraine’s defence capabilities amid ongoing Russian aggression.
Operation Interflex, initiated in mid-2022, has provided vital training to Ukrainian recruits, equipping them with the skills needed to counter Russian advances. Defence Secretary John Healey praised the programme, calling it “an achievement that cannot be overstated.”
Pleased to confirm to Parliament today that 50,000 Ukrainian troops have now been trained through Operation Interflex.
And we have extended this important UK-led programme to run throughout 2025.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/HUlAsLrD9N
— John Healey (@JohnHealey_MP) November 18, 2024
Healey added, “Our commitment to Ukraine remains ironclad. President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people will have our fullest support for as long as it takes.” The programme is now set to continue until at least the end of 2025.
In addition to the training milestone, the UK unveiled a new £7.5 million funding package for attack and surveillance drones, a move designed to enhance Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities. This funding will be channelled through a UK-Latvia-led drone coalition, which now includes contributions from Germany (£10 million), Canada (£3 million), and Luxembourg (£3 million), bringing the coalition’s total funding to £67 million.
The announcement comes as the UK Government’s annual spending on military support for Ukraine hits a record £3 billion, supplemented by £2.3 billion derived from profits on frozen Russian assets.
Recent UK military aid packages have also included naval equipment, air defence systems, and artillery rounds, further demonstrating the breadth of support provided.
Ukrainian forces have shown significant success in deploying drones to counter Russian assets. Surveillance drones have been instrumental in targeting Russian artillery, while attack drones have neutralised hundreds of Russian tanks and vehicles. The UK’s latest funding package builds on this success, with a focus on providing new interceptor drones capable of neutralising incoming threats.
Beyond the battlefield, the UK has also signed a £3.5 billion defence industrial agreement with Ukraine, allowing Kyiv to procure military equipment from UK companies. This agreement complements the ongoing efforts of Operation Interflex, which remains one of the largest multinational training programmes of its kind.
The Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, highlighted its significance, stating, “Interflex is the perfect example of how we are working side-by-side with allies to bolster the security of Ukraine, which in turn boosts the security of Europe and the UK.”
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Hmmm…fully understand the value of a substantial throughput of UKR personnel in an abbreviated infantry training course. However, you Brits have some of the best SF in the world. Would it not also make sense to provide SF training for a capable subset of the Ukrainians? Developing the core of such capabilities would seem to be a worthy longer-term goal. Dunno, no direct experience in the area, but it would appear to be an intuitively obvious measure… 🤔
Upon further reflection, this, of course, could be exactly what is transpiring, w/out public acknowledgement… 🤔
I was going to suggest that we would be rather coy about announcing SF training for the UKR forces – but I’d be amazed if it was not happening.
Cheers CR
I am ex British forces, I also lived and worked in the Ukraine with a son there and an ex that I still care about and the family doing their jobs there. My ex is a specilist in languages, god she even taught me English (Masters at 21 in language) and I’m a Brit. As for my son I will not say what he does but some of his mothers skills and some of my skills including duck incoming.
The standard training of Britsh troops is for a diffrent type of war. What is happening over there is more like WW1 than WW3. Mobility of the battlefield is gone it is a slogging match. I hope SF training is going on I also hope that intel is going on, which I know it is, but not always in real time. That is one area that the UKR forces are really lacking real time info.
What I would like to see is some training in the modern methods of the old SOE. It could be needed in the future.
I do have one question for Putin, it is this; even if you do win what then. He will have 40 million people that hates the Russians with a country that they know 2.5 times larger than the UK. The Russian forces will have a guerrilla war for decades. The situation for Putin is what the UK faced with the American War of Independence, we could have won that war, but what then, we could not police the Americas. With most of the people against the UK, it was just to big. The Ukraine would need between 500,000 – 1,000,000 Russian troops/police and even then?
Before someone asked no I have been blocked from going back, yet no one knows the mobile and data networks in the Ukraine better, I built and designed the damned thing even the back up systems. Yes it cost 20/25% more but it gave 50% redundency. As I have mentioned a few times I am ex Harrogate AAC and the college taught me well, from the deserts to America, from the very cold to the very hot, and some placies I have never officially never been by land sea and air. Then again, I just want my little one to come out the other side ok.
And for the love of god give them the tools they need and stop playing politics, the folks on the front line don’t have the time to ask Oh can we do it? Is it politically correct. If they see a target 50 miles over the border let them strike.
Sorry if this post is a bit more personnel but for me every unexpected knock on my door is the question in my head, a few seconds but a whole life.