CNN follows Ukrainian soldiers training at secret camp in England

Armed forces in the UK and nine other countries are training thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the British countryside.

A CNN accompanied training involving hundreds of soldiers in a secret camp, located in the Yorkshire region, in the north of the country. The exact location cannot be revealed, for security reasons, and only images that do not allow identifying the soldiers can be recorded.

Officials from allied countries teach Ukrainian recruits the war techniques used by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to face the powerful Russian army. Only 11% of them have seen combat and had prior military training. The others are volunteers aged 18 to 59.

Each infantry course called Operation Interflex lasts five weeks. Soldiers learn to use weapons against tanks and armored vehicles, to identify and shoot down drones, to fight in trenches and also the international laws that govern armed conflicts.

In one of the exercises, a small Ukrainian platoon was instructed to storm and take over an enemy-occupied building, simulating an urban battle.

Soldiers started from a ruined house, threw gas grenades to cover their movements and fired blank shots as they tried to evade machine gun volleys and even mock bombs dropped by drones. The mock battle went on for hours without respite.

Any mistake in the trenches can be fatal.

While in England, recruits are isolated all the time, sleeping on site. All say they are very motivated and dedicated to training.

“I decided to join the army to help my country because the Russians are killing many civilians, including women and children. They killed some of my friends, that’s why I enlisted,” said a 28-year-old female soldier identified as Angelika, who spent the entire day training combat tactics and moving around in trenches.

A British army instructor said the first priority was to teach every soldier how to defend himself, as any mistake in the trenches could be fatal.

The recruits, however, say they are not afraid of death, although they know that this possibility exists on the battlefront. “Sadly, that’s the sad reality of any war,” says Eric, a Norwegian officer who specializes in trench warfare and has served in Afghanistan.

“I thought about the risks of war and they crossed my mind before I signed up as a volunteer. It’s a difficult situation,” explained Igor, 32 years old and father of two.

satellite images

The secret camp was built in a rural area, close to farms with sheep and cattle, but with high technology. The British used, for example, satellite imagery to reproduce trench conditions exactly as they are on the front lines in Ukraine.

They also regularly source information from Western intelligence agencies about the development of the war in order to adapt the courses to the realities that soldiers will face on the battlefield.

Officer Erik told the CNN that this information is very important to supply the instructors and that it is essential that the training is as close as possible to real conditions on the front line.

“Most of the battles these soldiers are going to face are going to take place in conditions exactly like what they are seeing here,” he said, standing beside trenches about five feet deep.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, at least 35,000 Ukrainian recruits and officers will undergo various military courses at one of four training camps spread across the English countryside.

The Ukrainian officers themselves will also select soldiers who demonstrate a leadership profile to send them to new courses, where they will begin to prepare to command army platoons.

Although organized by the British Ministry of Defence, Operation Interflex courses are also taught by officers from other allied countries: Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Holland and Australia.

Finns and Swedes seize the opportunity to also approach NATO forces.

Finland was the last country to join the organization and Sweden is still in the process of joining. New Zealand and Australia are not part of NATO, but their militaries have a long history of cooperation with the entity.