British forces have begun training Ukrainian soldiers in a new program to help in their fight against Russia.
Up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers will arrive in the UK for specialized military training over several weeks. The first cohort met with Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace on Thursday, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed.
Wallace, who was expected to launch a campaign to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party, described the program as the next phase of British support for the Ukrainian army.
“Using the world-class experience of the British army, we will help Ukraine rebuild its forces and increase its resilience while defending its country’s sovereignty and its right to choose its own future,” he said.
Ukraine is losing up to 200 soldiers every day, which means that training reinforcements away from the threat of Russian attacks is critical to the country’s war effort.
Around 1,050 British service personnel are being deployed to run the program, which will take place at four undisclosed MoD sites in the north-west, south-west and south-east of the UK.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter, every weekday morning at 7:00 BST
The training will give volunteer recruits with little or no military experience the skills to be effective in front-line combat. Based on the basic training of UK soldiers, the course covers weapons handling, battlefield first aid, field boats, patrol tactics and the law of armed conflict.
The government, which has so far invested £ 2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, has also acquired AK-variant assault rifles for training, so that Ukrainian soldiers can train with the weapons they will use on the front line. .
The U.S. has also been training the Ukrainian military, with senior officers studying at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.