LONDON –
The first cohort of Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom have no prior military experience, have arrived in Britain for combat training as the eastern European country races to replace dead and wounded soldiers. wounded in the war against Russia.
The first few hundred new recruits are being trained at locations across the UK in the first phase of a program to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in weapons handling and first aid, the Ministry of Defense said. battlefield and patrol tactics, the Ministry of Defense said. It is part of a broader support package for Ukraine that includes £2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) in anti-tank weapons, missile systems and other hardware.
“Using the British Army’s world-class expertise, we will help Ukraine rebuild its forces and scale its resistance as it defends the country’s sovereignty and its right to choose its future.” , said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
As part of the program, Britain purchased AK-type assault rifles so the Ukrainians could train with the weapons they would use on the front lines. The UK will also provide soldiers with personal protective equipment, including helmets, body armor, eye, ear and pelvis protection, personal first aid kits as well as field uniforms and boots.
The goal is to quickly turn civilians into effective soldiers, Sgt. Dan Hayes told the Times of London.
“All these people are (truck) drivers or they work in quarries or they are shop owners,” says Hayes. “I’ve been in the military for 14 years and I opted in. These guys are all citizens and we’re investing everything we can because we know they’re going to need it.”
