On a field in southern England, the advance is underway. 200 Ukrainian soldiers are almost trained. It is their last exercise at the five-week recruit school led by British soldiers. – I was a civilian before the war and lived my own life, the Ukrainian who calls himself “Panda” tells news. The Ukrainian soldier who calls himself “Panda” was an engineer. Now he is a soldier and back in Ukraine after training in Great Britain. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news The Ukrainian soldier who calls himself “Panda” was an engineer. Now he is a soldier and back in Ukraine after training in Great Britain. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news The engineer could not continue as before when Russia invaded his country, and signed up for the Ukrainian forces. The British have been training Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine since 2015, but moved the training to Britain after the outbreak of war. After five weeks, the Ukrainian civilians have become soldiers who are going to war in Ukraine. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / NRKE After five weeks, the Ukrainian civilians have become soldiers who are going to war in Ukraine. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news Since June, they have trained 5,700 soldiers. Now they are expanding the training program with the help of instructors from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand and Latvia. Norwegian soldiers train Ukrainian recruits in Great Britain. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / NRKNorwegian soldiers train Ukrainian recruits in Great Britain. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news A total of 19,000 Ukrainians will become soldiers on British soil. “Panda” is soon on its way back to the war in Ukraine. – Are you ready for war? – We have learned tactical, medical and psychological training. But also the international law that applies in war. I am ready for the match and will show everything I have learned here, says the engineer. Norwegian training At another camp elsewhere in Great Britain, Norwegian instructors are this week starting their first recruit school for Ukrainian soldiers. When news visited the camp last week, they were in the process of training themselves in Ukrainian weapons. The Ukrainian defense uses the weapon AK 47, also known as Kalashnikov. It is not the same as in the Norwegian armed forces, and the Norwegian instructors themselves have to learn how to handle the weapon before they can teach it to others. A Norwegian soldier from the Telemark battalion must learn to use a Kalashnikov in order to pass it on to the Ukrainian recruits. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news The contribution from Norway consists of somewhere between 50 and 100 soldiers, and will initially last until June next year. The Home Guard is leading the operation, and Ralph Fosse is the operational manager. He says that they received the assignment from the British at short notice, and that it is therefore soldiers from the Telemark battalion in Brigade North who are carrying out the first course. Later, crews from the Home Guard take over. Winter training The Ukrainian recruits who begin their training now will finish at the end of November. Then they are sent back to Ukraine and into the war when winter sets in. – There has been war in the Ukrainian winter before, and it has been very demanding for the forces that have been in Ukrainian mud and sleet and fighting before, says Lars. Ukrainian recruits train in Great Britain Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / NRKU Ukrainian recruits train in Great Britain Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news He is the second-in-command instructor from the Telemark battalion, and knows how extremely demanding the winter months are for the soldiers he is now training. But there are some differences between the Ukrainians who come to Britain as recruits, and Norwegian youth who go to recruit school in Norway: They are older. They come from a life as a taxi driver, lawyer, journalist, engineer and other professions in all walks of life. They are highly motivated to defend their country in an ongoing war. The British appreciate the Norwegian contribution. Kempley Buchan-Smith is operations manager for the recruit school in the south of England, and tells news that the Norwegian instructors have acquired a very important experience. Kempley Buchan-Smith is the British operations manager for one of the training camps where Ukrainian soldiers receive training. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news – As we now enter the winter months, their knowledge of cold is invaluable in ensuring that the Ukrainians are as prepared as possible for a harsh winter war, he says. The fictitious attack is over. Injured soldiers are strewn on the ground. The healthy take pity on them with newly learned first aid, while the instructors overlook the whole thing. The last day of the course is over. Next time, the battlefield is in Ukraine, and it is no longer an exercise. The Ukrainian recruits come as civilians and travel as soldiers. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news The Ukrainian recruits come as civilians and travel as soldiers. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news
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Norwegian soldiers train Ukrainian recruits in Great Britain – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
