Britain expands training program for Ukraine forces

MILAN — Ukrainian forces will receive additional training from the British military as part of the expansion of the United Kingdom-led Interflex warfare program.

Operation Interflex was launched in July 2022, initially as a five-week course, intended to provide Ukrainian recruits with basic combat training. The British government announced this week that it has renewed the initiative at least to the end of 2026, highlighting its long-term commitment to providing assistance to the wartorn country.

The program is also being revamped to best cater to Kyiv’s evolving military requirements, where classes are now seven weeks long and a greater focus is given to leadership and instructor training.

Two alternative courses are offered alongside the basic infantry class: one teaches troops how to command at a platoon and section leader level, while the other is an instructor training course tailored to the seniority of recruits.

“Training a new generation of Ukrainian instructors is one of the most effective methods to strengthen Ukraine’s security both now and in the long-term – it will help to continue to regenerate its military capabilities, which would act as the strongest deterrent against further attacks from Putin under any peace deal,” a statement from the UK Ministry of Defense said.

Interflex is the successor to Operation Orbital, another UK-led training program that ran from 2015 to 2022, in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but where British instructors were sent to Ukraine. Thus far, over 50,000 Ukrainian recruits have been trained in the UK.

Thirteen other nations are involved in the initiative, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Kosovo, Sweden, Albania and the Netherlands.

According to survey results published by the UK MoD, among Ukrainian trainees who completed the leadership courses from January to August 2025, 83% said they “felt more able to make their troops under their command survivable at the end of their training,” and 93% said they were more confident that they could make them “more lethal” under their control.

This year, the UK has pledged to spend $6.1 billion on military support to Ukraine, its largest amount to date. A large part of this sum will go towards buying 5,000 air defense missiles , as announced in March, and a significant number will be invested to increase Ukraine’s supply of drones.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——作为英国主导的“国际灵活作战计划”（Interflex warfare program）扩展的一部分，乌克兰军队将接受英国军方的额外训练。

“国际战术行动”（Operation Interflex）于2022年7月启动，最初为期五周，旨在为乌克兰新兵提供基础战斗训练。英国政府本周宣布，已将该计划至少延长至2026年底，凸显了其对这个饱受战火蹂躏的国家提供援助的长期承诺。

该计划也在进行改革，以更好地满足基辅不断变化的军事需求，课程现在为期七周，更加注重领导力和教官培训。

除了基础步兵课程外，还提供两种替代课程：一种是教授士兵如何担任排长和班长级别的指挥，另一种是为新兵的资历量身定制的教官培训课程。

英国国防部在一份声明中表示：“培养新一代乌克兰教官是加强乌克兰当前和长期安全的最有效方法之一——这将有助于继续恢复乌克兰的军事能力，这将在任何和平协议下对普京的进一步攻击起到最强的威慑作用。”

Interflex是“轨道行动”（Operation Orbital）的后续项目。“轨道行动”是另一个由英国主导的训练项目，于2015年至2022年实施，旨在应对俄罗斯吞并克里米亚，但当时英国教官被派往乌克兰。迄今为止，已有超过5万名乌克兰新兵在英国接受训练。

参与该倡议的还有另外 13 个国家，包括澳大利亚、加拿大、丹麦、爱沙尼亚、芬兰、立陶宛、新西兰、挪威、罗马尼亚、科索沃、瑞典、阿尔巴尼亚和荷兰。

根据英国国防部公布的调查结果，在 2025 年 1 月至 8 月完成领导力课程的乌克兰学员中，83% 的人表示，在训练结束后，他们“感觉更有能力让其指挥下的部队生存下来”，93% 的人表示，他们更有信心让部队在其控制下“更具杀伤力”。

今年，英国承诺向乌克兰提供61亿美元的军事援助，这是迄今为止英国对乌克兰的最大一笔援助。这笔资金的大部分将用于购买5000枚防空导弹（正如3月份宣布的那样），另有相当一部分将用于增加乌克兰的无人机数量。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。