Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers are given lessons in leadership by trainers from various NATO Allies and partner countries. The training programme is part of UK-led Operation Interflex, which the United Kingdom decided to extend until the end of 2026.
Synopsis
NATO Allies and partners are preparing Ukrainian soldiers for leadership on the frontline.
Under UK-led Operation Interflex, Ukrainian soldiers are being trained on the platoon commander course. The 10-week course is open to experienced soldiers. Many of the participants have previously completed the basic training phase, returning to build on their skills. The course is helping to teach the participants best tactics and procedures to exploit Russian vulnerabilities on the battlefield.
Operation Interflex has an extensive programme of courses for Ukrainian volunteers and soldiers, across various undisclosed locations in the United Kingdom. It was launched in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has trainers from NATO Allies Albania, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom and NATO partners Australia and New Zealand. It also has instructors from Kosovo. On Ukraine’s Independence Day, 24 August, the UK announced Operation Interflex will continue until ‘at least the end of 2026’, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s defence.
Footage includes shots of trench clearance and urban training plus soundbites from a Ukrainian trainee, Major Cussins, Commanding Officer of the Handling and Processing Centre, and Lieutenant Willet, 1st Battalion Irish Guards, Platoon Commander Battle Course Training Unit.
Transcript
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS THROW GRENADES DURING A TRENCH ASSAULT DRILL AT THE TRAINING GROUND
(00:19) VARIOUS SLOW MO SHOTS (NO SOUND) – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS CONDUCT A TRENCH ASSAULT DRILL AT THE TRAINING GROUND
(01:22) SLOW MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – A FINNISH INSTRUCTOR MONITORS THE TRENCH ASSAULT DRILLS
(01:32) MEDIUM SHOT – A FINNISH INSTRUCTOR PROVIDES FEEDBACK AFTER THE TRENCH ASSAULT DRILL
(01:38) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS AND FINNISH INSTRUCTOR ASSEMBLE TO DISCUSS THE DRILL
(01:49) CLOSE SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIER PLANS AN AMBUSH DRILL WITH A SWEDISH INSTRUCTOR
(01:55) WIDE SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS PLAN AN AMBUSH DRILL
(02:00) WIDE SHOT – A UKRAINIAN SOLDIER PUTS ON HIS SHOULDER AN NLAW ANTI-TANK MISSILE SYSTEM FOR AN AMBUSH
(02:05) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN TRAINEES STALK THROUGH THE FOREST TO PREPARE TO AMBUSH
(02:16) MEDIUM SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIER RAISES AN NLAW ANTI-TANK MISSILE SYSTEM ONTO HIS SHOULDER
(02:20) CLOSE SHOT - UKRAINIAN SOLDIER SAT IN WOODS WITH AN NLAW ANTI-TANK MISSILE SYSTEM ON HIS SHOULDER, SWEDISH INSTRUCTOR WALKS INTO FRAME
(02:25) WIDE SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS RUNNING THROUGH WOODS
(02:28) SLOW MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – A BRITISH/UKRAINIAN PATCH ON A BRITISH ARMY INSTRUCTOR’S BODY ARMOUR
(02:37) CLOSE SHOT – A SIGN READING ’NO ADMITTANCE’ ON TRAINING GROUND
(02:43) CLOSE SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS FILL MAGAZINES
(02:47) WIDE SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIER THROWS A GRENADE
(02:50) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS ASSAULT A TRENCH SYSTEM
(03:02) VARIOUS GOPRO SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS ASSAULT A TRENCH SYSTEM FIRING WEAPONS
(03:33) MEDIUM SHOT – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS WALK THROUGH TRENCH
(03:39) SLOW MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS WALKING ACROSS TRAINING GROUND
(03:46) CLOSE SHOT – AN ESTONIAN INSTRUCTOR TALKS TO UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS AT THE URBAN TRAINING SITE
(03:49) CLOSE SHOT – ARM PATCH ON ESTONIAN INSTRUCTOR SHOWING ‘OPERATION INTERFLEX’
(03:53) VARIOUS SHOTS – UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS PREPARE TO AMBUSH BUILDING
(04:07) SLOW MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – BRITISH AND UKRAINIAN FLAGS HANG ABOVE EQUIPMENT STORAGE IN THE HANDLING AND PROCESSING CENTRE
(04:11) VARIOUS SHOTS – EQUIPMENT FOR UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS IN THE HANDLING AND PROCESSING CENTRE
(04:23) SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER 1
“The loss of the comrades-in-arms. That is what will stay with me for the rest of my life and will be present with me every hour of every day.”
(04:38) SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER 1
“The loss of my comrades-in-arms is not the only thing that drives me. I’m also motivated to keep my country free, to keep my children, my grandchildren, I have four of them, to keep them alive without war, so that they never know what war is. I don’t want us to lose our brothers, and I want peace for the population. I don’t want our cities to be destroyed. I want us to be as we were before: a flourishing, singing country.”
(05:14) SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER 1
“We have different ways to practise combat. We learn from our instructors. They teach us very well. And there are many insights that can be taken and brought home to apply in the future.”
(05:32) SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) UKRAINIAN SOLDIER 2
“We have to do this so that the enemy doesn’t go on to invade other countries and wreak havoc, as they are currently doing on our territory.”
(05:44) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MAJOR CUSSINS, OFFICER COMMANDING THE HANDLING AND PROCESSING CENTRE
“Operation Interflex is all about training the Ukrainian Armed Forces. So as they come through the UK, our role here is to handle and process them so we’ll pick them up, and we’ll do a bit of medical review. We collect them from the airport and then we give them to the training teams and they’ll train them. And that’s the essence of it really. Training them to help them in their fight against Russia.”
(06:06) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MAJOR CUSSINS, OFFICER COMMANDING THE HANDLING AND PROCESSING CENTRE
“There’s the logistic challenge, without getting too technical, making sure the kit is coming through the supply chain at the right volume and the right speed and we are getting the right kit. And sometimes we have to be quite reactive to the numbers that are coming through, making sure that the product we’re giving them is good. That’s probably the easier bit, to be honest. The harder challenge is probably, we’ve got a lot of young soldiers who are new to the military and I’m very aware that they’re being exposed to first-hand stories, some of which are quite traumatic, so it’s probably looking after our own force, as well as looking after the Ukrainians that we’re assisting.”
(06:41) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MAJOR CUSSINS, OFFICER COMMANDING THE HANDLING AND PROCESSING CENTRE
“So there’s probably quite a sense of pride and a little bit of privilege to be part, albeit just a very small part, of a huge operation which is hopefully making a difference.”
(06:53) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT WILLET, 1ST BATTALION IRISH GUARDS, PLATOON COMMANDERS BATTLE COURSE TRAINING TEAM
“I’m with the training team running the Platoon Commanders Battle Course, so training Ukrainian junior officers and junior leaders. So they’ll be mostly going back to Ukraine and running platoons of about 30 soldiers, mostly working in small teams, from a variety of different cap badges. So infantry, artillery, logistics, all different kinds. We’re mainly training them in leadership and planning and that’s the focus of our course.”
(07:19) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT WILLET, 1ST BATTALION IRISH GUARDS, PLATOON COMMANDERS BATTLE COURSE TRAINING TEAM
“So our approach with our course is very much a two-way thing. We’re trying to learn as much as we can from their experiences on the battlefield. And at the same time, what we’re trying to teach them is not necessarily how you do an individual drill, how you conduct a specific attack. We’re trying to teach them more processes, how to conduct planning, how to analyse a situation, and how to apply your force to that particular problem. So yeah, it’s very much a two-way thing. We’re not trying to tell them that, you know, our way of doing things or our way of planning things is the only way and we very much try to get as many of the answers from them as we can. But its, yeah, we very much see it as an exchange.”
(07:59) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT WILLET, 1ST BATTALION IRISH GUARDS, PLATOON COMMANDERS BATTLE COURSE TRAINING TEAM
“So yeah, it’s been fantastic working with the international partners we’ve got in the team. In our training subunit, we’re working with the Romanians and the Albanians, and then we work very closely with the Kiwis and the Australians as well who’re in the next-door unit. Yeah, fantastic to work with really really professional and bring, you know, again, different approaches, different ideas to the table.”
(08:20) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT WILLET, 1ST BATTALION IRISH GUARDS, PLATOON COMMANDERS BATTLE COURSE TRAINING TEAM
“It’s been a really humbling and rewarding experience working with the Ukrainians. And we’ve learned a lot from them and hopefully they’ve learned a lot from us.”
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