More than 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in the United Kingdom as part of Operation Interflex. How do Allied and partner nation trainers turn civilians into soldiers ready to defend their homeland?
Synopsis
NATO Allies and partners, led by the British Armed Forces, are helping turn Ukrainian civilians into soldiers ready to defend their country.
At a training ground in the United Kingdom, the civilians are getting a five-week crash course in military discipline and infantry tactics as part of Operation Interflex, a UK-led effort to replenish the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with trained soldiers. Since 2022, 45,000 Ukrainians soldiers have been trained under Interflex, which includes instructors from 12 other countries.
Each cohort of trainees receives training on everything from trench warfare, urban combat and fireteam tactics, to battlefield medicine, survival skills, counter-drone warfare and instruction on the laws of armed conflict. The curriculum is informed by battlefield intelligence and is constantly updated to ensure that the soldiers receive relevant training.
The UK is also equipping the Ukrainian soldiers with uniforms and equipment that they use during the training and will take back to their home country.
This footage was captured during a media day hosted by the UK Ministry of Defence. It was held in honour of Ukrainian Independence Day, celebrated on 24 August, the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Footage includes shots of Ukrainian volunteers learning how to treat and evacuate casualties during combat scenarios, as well as interviews with a Ukrainian volunteer and British Army officers.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – TRAINERS GIVING UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERS A LESSON ON CASUALTY EXTRACTION
(00:18) VARIOUS SHOTS – VOLUNTEERS ATTENDING TO A SIMULATED CASUALTY
(00:30) CLOSE SHOT – VOLUNTEER ARMED, HELPING TO SECURE EXTRACTION SITE
(00:34) VARIOUS SHOTS - VOLUNTEERS EXTRACTING A SIMULATED CASUALTY, WHILE OTHERS SECURE SITE
(01:24) WIDE SHOTS – ARMED VOLUNTEERS RUNNING THROUGH TRENCH
(01:30) VARIOUS SHOTS - VOLUNTEERS ATTENDING TO A SIMULATED CASUALTY
(01:41) VARIOUS SHOTS - VOLUNTEERS EXTRACTING A SIMULATED CASUALTY
(01:45) VARIOUS SHOTS - VOLUNTEERS ATTENDING TO A SIMULATED CASUALTY IN A TRENCH
(02:10) VARIOUS SHOTS – TRAINERS GIVING UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERS A LESSON ON CASUALTY EXTRACTION
(02:34) WIDE SHOT – VOLUNTEERS STOOD IN LINE, ARMED, ON TRAINING GROUND
(02:37) VARIOUS SHOTS – TRAINERS GIVING UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERS A LESSON ON ATTENDING TO A CASUALTY
(03:35) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERS STOOD WATCHING THE LESSON
(03:48) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MYKOLA, UKRAINIAN ARMY VOLUNTEER
“So good afternoon. My name is Mykola and I'm here on Operation Interflex, trying to become a soldier.”
(04:01) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MYKOLA, UKRAINIAN ARMY VOLUNTEER
“When I get deployed to the battlefield, I will know what to do. I won't panic because during this exercise I will gain the necessary, not only the necessary knowledge, but also the muscle memory to immediately be aware of what exactly should I do in a specific case whenever I end up on the battlefield.”
(04:28) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MAJOR BARRETT, OPERATION INTERFLEX
“So Interflex is very much a sort of plug-and-play training package which anybody can do. And NATO partners have got a huge, huge amount they can add and contribute. I find here that, when I'm working with some of our partners from Estonia or New Zealand, they have methods of training which, you know, we can learn from. And it's really good to get different nations involved and it makes all of us better. It's not just about training the Ukrainians, but it's also about making ourselves better instructors for future iterations of Interflex.”
(05:01 ) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT BURMAN, OPERATION INTERFLEX
“ It's always nice to teach things you're passionate about as well but then, with the added, I suppose, weight of the importance that this particular operation carries, these people have come here and this is very new to them. They're going through a rigorous course, and then they will go back to Ukraine and defend their country. So I'm proud to be a part of it.”
(05:17) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT BURMAN, OPERATION INTERFLEX
“Ukraine was illegally and barbarically invaded. They obviously have an inherent right to defend themselves as any country should have, when suffering illegal invasion. I think it's important for us to send a message to Russia that NATO is unified and remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine as they bravely defend their country.”
