Training Ukrainian Soldiers Reducing Capacity for UK’s Own Programmes: Watchdog

Ukrainian soldiers take part in urban training at a military training camp in Yorkshire, England, on Feb. 16, 2023. PA Wire/PA Images

Providing facilities to train Ukrainian troops has reduced the capacity for British armed forces to maintain their own training programmes, the spending watchdog has found.

More than a quarter of the Army’s training estate is being used for Operation Interflex, the UK’s programme for training Ukrainian troops, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) published on Wednesday.

As a result, bids for time from British army unit to use training sites on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) estate in 2023 were rejected at eight times the rate as in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 lockdowns and the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The MoD has acknowledged that Interflex will constrain the British army’s capacity to train its own soldiers,” the NAO report said, adding that the Army was working with international partners and Army Reserve to mitigate against the impact this has on British forces.

The report also noted that Operation Interforge—a programme for training Ukrainian marines—was moved to the Netherlands in February because, the MoD told the auditors, “the use of training facilities in the UK was threatening to compromise the Royal Marines’ own training needs.” It said a small team of British personnel have gone to the Netherlands to help Dutch trainers continue to deliver the programme.

The spending watchdog conducted the investigation in response to public and parliamentary interest in the MoD’s practical support for Ukraine, and its cost.

Head of the NAO Gareth Davies said that as the war has progressed, the MoD has learnt lessons on how it is managing support.

Davies said: “As the Ministry of Defence plans its future support for Ukraine, it must continue to balance the UK’s strategic interests with maintaining the UK’s own military capabilities. This includes making sure there are appropriate stocks of equipment and sufficient training provision for UK forces.”

£7.8 Billion Committed to Ukraine

The report also said that a total of £7.8 billion in funding has been committed to military support for Ukraine between January 2022 and March 2025. This is coming through the Treasury’s Reserve rather than the MoD budget, though the MoD is working with HM Treasury to agree objectives.

This includes £2.4 billion spending on procuring equipment for Ukraine, in addition to donating equipment from British stockpiles. The MoD estimates it will cost £2.7 billion to replace the donated equipment up to 2030-31, which will have a higher value for replacement spending to reflect the cost of replacing old equipment with new, in some cases with kit using more advanced technology.

So far there have been over 3,000 deliveries of supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The report comes after MPs in the previous government had raised concern of the state of the British military. In February, the House of Commons Defence Committee warned that the UK’s ability to engage in a war was marred by the armed forces’ recruitment crisis and stockpile shortage.

“The government risks being unable to build true warfighting and strategic readiness because of the sheer pace of operations, which could threaten the security of the UK,” the committee told MPs in a report.

The “hollowing out” of the military since 2010 had undermined the country’s warfighting resilience, the committee’s inquiry heard, warning that the armed forces would exhaust their capabilities “after the first couple of months of the engagement” in a peer-on-peer war.

After Labour won the election, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ordered a root-and-branch Strategic Defence Review to examine the UK’s security and defence capabilities. as well as pledging to raise the defence budget to 2.5 percent of GDP.

42,050 Soldiers Trained

The UK has remained committed to supporting Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, both materially and with training.

So far, the UK has trained 42,050 AFU personnel under Operation Interflex, surpassing the target of training 40,000 by July 2024. This includes training new recruits, frontline commanders, instructors, and those in specialist roles such as medical staff.

Some 89 percent of AFU troops trained on British soil in the fourth wave of Operation Interflex said they felt better equipped to survive on the battlefield.

Ukrainian soldiers take part in a military exercise at a military training camp in Yorkshire, England, on Feb. 16, 2023. PA Wire/PA Images

An MoD spokesperson said: “All UK forces have access to the relevant training required to be held at readiness to protect the UK and meet our Nato commitments.

“But we welcome the NAO’s report, which recognises that Ukrainian troops are better prepared to defend their country from Russia’s illegal invasion thanks to the UK providing training.”

Last week, Defence Secretary John Healey said that Operation Interflex would continue this year and throughout 2025.

PA Media contributed to this report.