Synopsis
At a training camp in south-east Poland, Ukrainian troops are learning how to fight and survive on the battlefield under the instruction of NATO Allies. Camp Jomsborg was established in 2025 as part of Operation Legio, a multinational effort led by Norway to train, equip and fund Ukraine’s armed forces. Named after a mythical Viking fortress, the facility was set up by the Norwegian Army with support from several NATO Allies, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and is designed to give Ukrainian troops the battlefield skills they need to operate effectively. Ukrainian soldiers who arrive at Jomsborg have varying levels of skills and experience. Some are hardened combat veterans looking to learn advanced tactics from the Legio instructors; others are combat support troops like logistics soldiers, or artillery personnel who need infantry combat skills to survive on a dynamic and unpredictable battlefield. At the very least, trainees receive thorough instruction in marksmanship under stress, effective combat communication and platoon- and company-level infantry movements. Due to its close proximity to the Ukrainian border, Camp Jomsborg is an ideal place for Ukrainian forces to sharpen their skills.
Transcript
TRANSCRIPT (AUDIO AND TEXT ON SCREEN) SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) - ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “No one wants war. But suddenly it comes.” “It comes and no one is ready for it.” “But if you train hard, you can endure it.” SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CPT PETTER, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY “We are really grateful, we are really respectful for what they do. But if you’re not feeling anything, then you’re not a human.” — TEXT ON SCREEN — At Camp Jomsborg in Poland, NATO Allies are training Ukrainian soldiers. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – ANONYMOUS, NORWEGIAN TRAINER “So how does this work? This is a shock grenade, so it will have good effect in trench and in, for example, in closed rooms.” SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CPT PETTER, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY “This is a camp in Poland.” “It’s a Nordic-Baltic joint effort. We bring in Ukrainian troops for 50 days for high-quality training.” -LOWER THIRD- ‘CPT PETTER’ DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CPT PETTER, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY “So most of them have a lot of experience, and less education and formal competence. So that is why we are here.” “We’re not going into the numbers, but the capacity is enough to train the numbers that they are in need of.’ SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – ANONYMOUS, NORWEGIAN INSTRUCTOR “These are you guys. So this one is now saying ‘prepare shock’.” — TEXT ON SCREEN — The training needs range from basic infantry tactics to advanced courses, — TEXT ON SCREEN — including trench-clearing, heavy weapons and instructor training. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CPT PETTER, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY “If you cannot shoot, move and communicate, you cannot fight. I think that’s the baseline.” SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – ANONYMOUS, NORWEGIAN INSTRUCTOR “You saw this on the first, on Monday, right? The goal for this exercise is to get as good grouping on the target as possible”. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – ANONYMOUS, NORWEGIAN INSTRUCTOR “A little longer bursts.” SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CPT PETTER, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY “We’re also educating Ukrainian instructors, enhancing the quality of their training.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “Working with new soldiers is like training your own personnel for yourself.” -LOWER THIRD- ‘ARIES’ Instructor, Armed Forces of Ukraine “And it’s very important for me not just to be their instructor, but to become a real sergeant, a true mentor who they can look up to.” SOUNTEBITE (ENGLISH) – ANONYMOUS, NORWEGIAN INSTRUCTOR “We go and cover each other.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “And they will follow this example.” — TEXT ON SCREEN — The Ukrainian instructors also help ensure the courses reflect battlefield realities. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CPT PETTER, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER, NORWEGIAN ARMY “The Ukrainians bring the best experience, right now, from modern battle.” “We are adapting to the trends we’re seeing in the war, tweaking the courses, making it more advanced.” “The experience sharing and the stories they are telling, especially on the drone and electronic warfare, that is improving our specialists working with that.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘FIGHTER’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “Every fighter, every warrior, he must be trained.” “The success of the operation or the lives of his fellow humans may depend on it.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “Maybe they will become my soldier with whom I will work in the future.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ANONYMOUS, UKRAINIAN SOLDIER “Grenade!” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “To fight, to defend, to assault positions.” “It’s quite difficult emotionally. Not everyone can handle it. SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘FIGHTER, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “What exactly do I feel?” “What do my brothers feel?” -LOWER THIRD- ‘Fighter’ Instructor, Armed Forces of Ukraine SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘FIGHTER, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “We have to understand that we are not safe anywhere.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “You worry about yourself, you worry about your brothers.” SOUNDBITE (UKRAINIAN) – ANONYMOUS, UKRAINIAN SOLDIER “Yeah!” “It is a cyclical, repetitive spectrum of emotions that repeats itself.” “It repeats and repeats.” SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), ANONYMOUS, DEPUTY CAMP COMMANDER “It is impossible to be here for 50 days training rotation and not sympathise with them, knowing what they’re going into.” “If they don’t do it, the situation in Europe will be changed.” “As Norwegians, we share a border with Russia. We are doing what we can, right now, from our perspective, to enhance their possibility to win the war, and secure our border.” SOUNDBITE IN UKRAINIAN (ENGLISH SUBTITLES), ‘FIGHTER, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “We have quite a few challenges ahead of us, which we must be prepared for, as per the plan both psychologically and in terms of physical exertion.” “It’s quite difficult. It’s a test for each of us, for each person. Therefore, we must always work, constantly train, improve, because Ukraine, it’s brothers and sisters, it’s home. This is the place where I was born. That’s why Ukraine is very important to me.” SOUNDBITE IN UKRAINIAN (ENGLISH SUBTITLES), ‘ARIES’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “The enemy does not observe any laws of war. For the enemy, there are no rules. But the only people who can stop it and push the enemy back are those who take up arms and can stand up to the enemy to defend the integrity of Ukraine.” SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH Producer, off-camera “When you hear ‘Glory to Ukraine’, what does that mean to you? What does that make you feel?” SOUNDBITE IN UKRAINIAN (ENGLISH SUBTITLES), ‘FIGHTER’, INSTRUCTOR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE “It’s more than just the word ‘glory’. It’s more than just the word ‘Ukraine’. This is my home, this is all I have.” -TEXT ON SCREEN- “This video contains Thomson Reuters copyrighted library material licensed by NATO, which cannot be used as part of a new production without consent of the copyright holder. Please contact Thomson Reuters to clear this material.”
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