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Training of Ukrainian recruits under Operation Interflex has been extended until at least the end of 2026, under a recent announcement from the United Kingdom.
More than 50,000 Ukrainian recruits have been trained in Britain since the start of the exercise, which features support from 13 other nations including Australia. The extension was announced on Ukrainian Independence Day, marking 34 years since declaring independence from the Soviet Union.
“The UK is united for Ukraine. We will continue to step up our support alongside allies, so that Ukraine can defend today and deter tomorrow,” UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
“In the face of ongoing Russian attacks, we must put Ukraine’s Armed Forces in the strongest possible position. And as the push for peace continues, we must make the Ukrainians into the strongest possible deterrent to secure that future peace.
“On this special day for the freedom and democracy of the Ukrainian people, we are ramping up and evolving our world-leading training support that has given more than 50,000 Ukrainians vital combat skills.
“This matters to Ukraine and it matters to Britain. A secure Ukraine is a secure Europe. From learning lessons from the battlefield to strengthen our own Armed Forces to deepening our military industrial collaboration supporting jobs across the nation, Britain and Ukraine are growing closer than ever before.”
Operation Interflex focuses on basic combat skills training, basic infantry technique, platoon command, section leader command and instructor training.
Operation Interflex originally began as a five-week course to provide basic combat training to recruits and has been lengthened to a seven-week course due to feedback from Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
An Australian soldier, who instructed on a platoon commander and sergeants course during the 10th rotation of Australia’s contribution to Operation Interflex and Operation Kudu, said the Ukrainians sometimes lacked important individual soldier skills, which is where he saw the most improvement.
“Some of the older members can be a little bit more entrenched in their previous training and they benefit from NATO training and skills,” he said.
“They’re getting new training that they are able to teach their subordinates as well, which is increasing the abilities of the AFU as a whole.
“As more and more people start to pick up this NATO training and some of our doctrine, our skills, it increases their effectiveness to communicate orders, to communicate how they will achieve a mission, in order to overcome their adversaries.
“From the initial stages of the course, AFU personnel are determined and willing to learn, immediately on board to do whatever they need to get the job done. Their ADF instructors have taken heart from their dedication.
“They’re very strong and fierce in their loyalty to their country, to their mates and to their allies.
“Even though they’re in a war, they’re still willing to give you the shirt off their back just for helping them get better.”
Survey results of Ukrainian recruits who have completed training under Operation Interflex (January to August 2025) found that 83 per cent of those on leadership courses said they felt more able to make their troops under their command survivable at the end of their leadership training, according to the UK government.
The data also revealed that 93 per cent of leadership trainees felt more confident they could make troops under their command more lethal at the end of their training.
“I am very grateful to the UK for supporting the people of Ukraine in their struggle for independence and identity as a nation,” according to Artem, a Ukrainian soldier currently training on Operation Interflex’s Platoon and Company Sergeants Course.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to take such courses, for the high level of professionalism of the instructors, their dedication to their work, and for their ability to organise both group training and find an individual approach for each of us.
“Instructors ensure that classes are conducted in conditions as close to real-life as possible, whether it be in trenches, in a forested area or in an urban area.
“I learned how important it is to be prepared for coordinated actions in conditions of increased danger, how to properly coordinate personnel during defence, and planning offensive actions. I learnt how to survive in conditions of minimal support and improve first aid skills.”
