Latest news with #OperationInterflex
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Insider
Ukrainian soldiers are being trained for bomb-dropping drones — with water balloons
Western partners are training Ukrainian soldiers with water balloons that are dropped from drones. Other armies have tried things like tennis balls, but in the UK, it's water balloons that mimic the grenades and other explosives falling from drones in the Ukraine war. As drone warfare takes on greater prominence in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Western training for Ukrainian soldiers has increasingly incorporated drones. The training includes prepping soldiers for the drones that drop bombs. The small, cheap, off-the-shelf drones that are now buzzing all over Ukraine were initially used primarily as surveillance assets, for situational awareness, but now, they execute a range of missions on the battlefield, including precision strike. In response, training programs have had to adapt. "We've had to expand our usage of drones. We now use drones in an offensive manner," Col. Boardman, commanding officer of the British-led training program Operation Interflex, told Business Insider. "We don't just use them as flying cameras," he said, "now, we drop water balloons from them." The UK defense ministry asked for him to be identified only by his rank and last name. He said "that simulates dropping explosives and allows us to introduce that level of threat into the picture." Operation Interflex, run by the UK and involving 13 other partner nations, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Lithuania, has trained more than 56,000 Ukrainians. It offers training to new recruits about to enter the battlefield for the first time, as well as training for more seasoned soldiers who have experienced the fight and want to deepen their skills and become better leaders. Boardman said the Ukrainians enter the fighting immediately after their training. "We probably teach them more than we would teach our British Army recruits because our British Army recruits don't go straight to war off the back of their basic training," he said. Ukrainian troops have to be ready for an intense, grinding battlefield that the UK Ministry of Defence says has seen around 1 million combat losses on the Russian side alone. The horrific conditions have motivated the trainers to make training as realistic as they can, as the Ukrainians can't afford to be unprepared. Boardman said British drone operators are involved in the training of Ukrainian soldiers "because we requested their support in effectively trying to replicate the drone environment as best we can." The training also uses amputees, with fake blood and movie makeup to up the realism, to act as wounded soldiers who have had limbs blown off and need treatment. Boardman said "the idea is to bring a bit of shock and a little bit of reality to really get the recruit into the moment, to make them really think it's a genuine casualty they're having to deal with." The war has been brutal, and that kind of training is critical for learning battlefield first aid. But more pressing in this fight is being ready for the drone war. Drones are being used more than in any other conflict in history, impacting everything from tactics to soldier morale to deaths. Many drone operators say that as many as 80% of Russia's front-line losses are caused by drones, rather than by other weaponry. These destructive weapons have cost Ukrainian forces as well. There are so many drones in the sky that soldiers can easily find themselves confused about which side they belong to. In a panic, some try to jam or shoot down everything. Though the West is training Ukrainian soldiers for war, it's also taking lessons from the war, with drones being a growing priority for Western militaries. The Pentagon, for instance, is launching a drone school with Ukrainian military advisors, Denmark plans to send personnel into Ukraine to learn drone warfare, and many Western drone companies want to make sure that Ukrainian soldiers are using their tech so they get feedback from the war. The Ukrainian military has much more direct experience with drones compared to Western countries training its soldiers. Ukraine is fighting an intense conflict against a larger adversary that features multiple types of warfare, from trench warfare to fierce artillery battles. The West, on the other hand, has spent the last couple of decades in wars with smaller adversaries that it had a great advantage over in terms of force size and firepower. These were counterinsurgency and anti-terror fights. Many Ukrainian soldiers receiving Western training have recently experienced the kinds of conditions they are getting trained for, such as trench warfare, while it's something the trainers have never experienced themselves. Boardman described it as a dynamic that both groups are aware of and benefit from. He said that some Ukrainian soldiers will "know very well how to clear a trench because they were doing it a few weeks ago," and when they are instructed on best practices, they can communicate what might work best. He said there is a "really rich mutual understanding going on" where the UK and partner countries carefully listen to the Ukrainians' experiences and share NATO doctrine in return, and "it ends up with the sum being much greater than the parts, which is really valuable for us." "We are also feeding all that knowledge into the British Army," Boardman explained. He said that the UK is developing drone warfare tactics, but "we are not currently at war, so we are not, probably, developing them at the same pace that the Ukrainians are — by necessity, almost." Since the UK was "on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the operating environment has changed with the ubiquitous presence of drones, which changes everything," he said, but the Ukrainians are "very good at sharing the understanding with us."
Business Insider
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
The UK is training Ukrainian soldiers to make 'every shot count'. They don't have ammo to waste.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Western training for Ukrainian soldiers includes trying to make them as "lethal as possible" while also preserving ammunition, as they lack the deep ammo stores of their Russian foes. Col. Boardman, the commanding officer of the UK-led training program Operation Interflex, told Business Insider that the training is designed to ensure that Ukraine's soldiers use every shot that they have as effectively as possible. "The Ukrainians don't have the luxury of a huge amount of ammunition in the way the Russians do," he said. It means Ukraine needs to "make best use of the ammunition they've got." Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a grinding fight that has consumed mountains of ammunition. With a much smaller arsenal, Ukraine has often found itself at a disadvantage and grappling with critical shortages. A Ukrainian soldier in the back of a vehicle. Fermin Torrano/Anadolu via Getty Images Fighting effectively while at that disadvantage has been baked into the training, which has been provided by the UK and 13 other allied nations to more than 56,000 Ukrainians. "We are focusing on making sure the soldiers that we train are as lethal as possible," Boardman said of the efforts to train them on small arms like rifles "Making every shot count in a literal sense is really important for the Ukrainians," he said. "So we spend quite a lot of time on the range coaching the marksmanship of the guys we're training to make sure that they do make every shot count when they get to the front." He explained that they're "trying to make the soldiers not only able to survive in the environment but also be as lethal, be as effective as they can be." Ukraine has a booming defense industry, but it still gets much of its weaponry and ammunition from Western partners. It's faced shortages as partner stockpiles are strained and as the US, previously a major supplier of war aid, sometimes pauses support amid political drama. Ukrainian soldiers take part in Operation Interflex in England. Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP Those shortages have, at times, meant that Ukraine's soldiers have to ration ammunition, leaving them unable to prosecute targets in their sights, Western soldiers who have fought for Ukraine in this war have told Business Insider. Related stories Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Big wars eat up a lot of ammunition Ukraine's ammunition struggles have been a serious wake-up call for Western militaries, which are closely watching the war to see what sort of weapons and tactics are needed for modern war against a great power adversary. Western countries are sounding the alarm over not having enough ammunition. The West is behind in solving that problem. Last month, the head of the NATO alliance warned that Russia produces as much ammunition in three months as NATO does in a year and called for a "quantum leap" in how Europe defends itself. Both large defense companies and startups are trying to solve this issue, but there's a huge gap to bridge. The shortage is just one indication of how this war is different from those the West has experienced in the last few decades. Those have been fights like counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations against adversaries that Western militaries had outgunned. Russia, by contrast, has one of the world's largest militaries, and the war is one marked by the resurgence of old methods, like trench warfare, along with advanced technology like drones. It is a long and grinding fight with hundreds of thousands of war dead. Drones have played a huge role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine's fightback. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova Ukraine is experiencing a fight unlike any the West has seen recently and passing lessons to Western partners that are not directly involved. That unusual dynamic is reflected in the Western trainings of Ukrainian soldiers, Boardman said. Some of the soldiers trained already have front-line experience. So, for example, when they are being taught trench clearance, they "know very well how to clear a trench because they were doing it a few weeks ago." They sometimes push back on what the instructors tell them to do, saying it won't work in this conflict. Boardman said that feedback is welcome. What happens, he said, is that NATO best practices and the Ukrainians' direct combat experience get combined. There is a "really rich mutual understanding going on," and the training ultimately "ends up with the sum being much greater than the parts, which is really valuable for us." Boardman said that even though the UK has "spent 20 or so years in the counterinsurgency focus," the training for Ukrainians is largely similar to what is given to the UK's own basic recruits, just with some specific focuses tailored to their war, like mines, drone warfare, and electronic warfare. "We probably teach them more than we would teach our British Army recruits because our British Army recruits don't go straight to war off the back of their basic training," he said. Boardman said the UK and its allies benefit from training Ukrainians too, getting direct feedback about how to fight Russia for their soldiers. He said trainers are "learning a lot from the Ukrainians," and "we are also feeding all that knowledge into the British Army." The UK hosts trainings for Ukrainian troops under its Operation Interflex program. HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images Boardman praised Ukraine's soldiers, saying its new recruits pick up on "how to operate a weapon incredibly quickly." He said that Ukraine's military focuses on the quality of its soldiers, choosing that as its strategy because it "hasn't got the size, the sheer mass of the Russian military." He said Ukraine decided to increase the length of Interflex training from 35 days to almost 50. "I'm really impressed, frankly, that they've done that because they could easily have said, 'We need recruits quickly. We just need numbers. Can we shorten the course a bit? Can you get through to us faster?' But they've done the opposite," Boardman said.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Western trainers use amputee actors to prep Ukrainian recruits for the 'shock' of blown-off limbs and other war wounds
Thousands of soldiers have been trained in the UK to fight Russia. The trainers use amputees to act as injured for shocking realism, the operation head told BI. The aim is not only to help soldiers survive but to "be as lethal and as effective as they can be. To prepare Ukrainian soldiers who come through the UK for training for the horrors of war with Russia, trainers have been employing amputees as wounded soldiers to make it feel real and introduce a bit of "shock." Col. Boardman, the commanding officer of the UK-led training program Operation Interflex, told Business Insider that the training for Ukrainian recruits includes a first aid course using actors. "Quite a lot of them are amputees," he said. "That adds a real sense of realism to the exercises: When you come across the casualty and it's someone with a leg missing at the knee and lots of theater makeup all over them." "And the idea is to bring a bit of shock and a little bit of reality to really get the recruit into the moment to make them really think it's a genuine casualty they're having to deal with." "Actually putting a tourniquet on a stump is different to putting a tourniquet on a healthy leg," he said. For the training, fake blood and burn makeup create the perception of a severe war injury. The UK and partner nations have trained more than 56,000 Ukrainians to fight against Russia's invasion as part of Operation Interflex. Ukrainians have come to the UK to learn from the militaries of the UK and 13 other allied nations, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Lithuania. The training is provided to new recruits, as well as ones with combat experience. Drones that scream as they dive into vehicles and dismounted troops and explode, close-quarters combat in trenches, artillery raining down along the front, the war in Ukraine has been a grinding, horrific fight with tremendous losses. The UK Ministry of Defence said last month that Russia is estimated to have suffered around 1 million combat losses in Ukraine. Ukraine and its partners do not share figures for Ukrainian losses, but a recent study put its casualties at almost 400,000. Between combatants, the total war dead is in the hundreds of thousands. This war has been catastrophic. Warnings from Western generals in recent years have come true in Ukraine. They had warned that soldiers in modern warfare may no longer have the lifesaving "golden hour," the first 60 minutes after getting injured, the window when higher-level care and treatment can drastically increase chances of survival. Soldiers and combat medics in Ukraine previously told BI that the ability to receive trauma care during the so-called "golden hour" that Western militaries enjoyed in conflicts in recent decades simply doesn't exist in this war. Control of the air in Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, meant warfighters could be medevaced to field hospitals and other facilities rather than, as it is in Ukraine, leaving troops dependent solely on first aid in the field, with proper care hours or even days away. An American veteran of the conflicts in the Middle East who also served in Ukraine said injuries that could be easily treated if soldiers could get proper medical care quickly often instead result in amputations and deaths. That puts pressure on combat medics, and fellow soldiers, to provide the best possible care they can in the field, making rigorous training crucial. Boardman said instructors try to integrate medical training throughout the training. The Ukrainians consistently say that "they'd like more of it because they're very conscious that it is literally lifesaving treatment." He said combat medicine is taught to Ukrainians from the very beginning, even in the course for new recruits. He explained that "it gives them enormous confidence in the event of themselves becoming a casualty or one of their colleagues." Boardman said that the course is structured around what any military recruit would need to survive and be effective, with some specifics for this war added, like drone warfare basics. "We probably teach them more than we would teach our British Army recruits because our British Army recruits don't go straight to war off the back of their basic training," Boardman said. He explained that "we're trying to make the soldiers not only able to survive in the environment but also be as lethal, as effective, as they can be." Much of the course is driven by what the Ukrainian soldiers say they need. For the Western trainers, the war that Ukraine is facing is unlike their own experiences. Ukraine is facing a major land war featuring trench warfare and artillery battles reminiscent of the World Wars mixed together with drone warfare unlike anything the world has seen before. The Ukrainians are battling a much larger adversary with key advantages in manpower, equipment, and industry. Boardman said that the dynamic is something instructors are aware of and act accordingly. He shared that Ukrainian commanders and sergeants often come from front-line units and "know very well how to clear a trench because they were doing it a few weeks ago. " Sometimes, the Ukrainians will push back on certain theories of war, noting that they didn't work when employed in combat. He said that the militaries doing the training hold institutional credibility from decades of experience, so "whatever the potential skepticism of experienced Ukrainian soldiers on arrival here, their chain of command, their senior headquarters have decided that it's worth their while to come here and be trained." But that doesn't mean it's rigid. The training is flexible and subject to changes based on feedback received even from the lower-ranking Ukrainian soldiers. "That wouldn't need to come as a letter from Kyiv to tell us to change that" Boardman shared. He said there is a "really rich mutual understanding going on" where the UK and partner countries carefully listen to the Ukrainians' experiences and share NATO doctrine in return, and "it ends up with the sum being much greater than the parts, which is really valuable for us." Boardman said the UK is approaching training "with a humility" and that the trainers are "learning a lot from the Ukrainians." Western nations, especially those in Europe, are increasingly concerned about the Russian threat, and their militaries are rapidly absorbing lessons from the war. "We are also feeding all that knowledge into the British Army," the colonel said. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Western trainers use amputee actors to prep Ukrainian recruits for the 'shock' of blown-off limbs and other war wounds
To prepare Ukrainian soldiers who come through the UK for training for the horrors of war with Russia, trainers have been employing amputees as wounded soldiers to make it feel real and introduce a bit of "shock." Col. Boardman, the commanding officer of the UK-led training program Operation Interflex, told Business Insider that the training for Ukrainian recruits includes a first aid course using actors. "Quite a lot of them are amputees," he said. "That adds a real sense of realism to the exercises: When you come across the casualty and it's someone with a leg missing at the knee and lots of theater makeup all over them." "And the idea is to bring a bit of shock and a little bit of reality to really get the recruit into the moment to make them really think it's a genuine casualty they're having to deal with." "Actually putting a tourniquet on a stump is different to putting a tourniquet on a healthy leg," he said. For the training, fake blood and burn makeup create the perception of a severe war injury. The UK and partner nations have trained more than 56,000 Ukrainians to fight against Russia's invasion as part of Operation Interflex. Ukrainians have come to the UK to learn from the militaries of the UK and 13 other allied nations, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Lithuania. The training is provided to new recruits, as well as ones with combat experience. A dangerous, brutal war Drones that scream as they dive into vehicles and dismounted troops and explode, close-quarters combat in trenches, artillery raining down along the front, the war in Ukraine has been a grinding, horrific fight with tremendous losses. The UK Ministry of Defence said last month that Russia is estimated to have suffered around 1 million combat losses in Ukraine. Ukraine and its partners do not share figures for Ukrainian losses, but a recent study put its casualties at almost 400,000. Between combatants, the total war dead is in the hundreds of thousands. This war has been catastrophic. Warnings from Western generals in recent years have come true in Ukraine. They had warned that soldiers in modern warfare may no longer have the lifesaving " golden hour," the first 60 minutes after getting injured, the window when higher-level care and treatment can drastically increase chances of survival. Soldiers and combat medics in Ukraine previously told BI that the ability to receive trauma care during the so-called "golden hour" that Western militaries enjoyed in conflicts in recent decades simply doesn't exist in this war. Control of the air in Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, meant warfighters could be medevaced to field hospitals and other facilities rather than, as it is in Ukraine, leaving troops dependent solely on first aid in the field, with proper care hours or even days away. An American veteran of the conflicts in the Middle East who also served in Ukraine said injuries that could be easily treated if soldiers could get proper medical care quickly often instead result in amputations and deaths. That puts pressure on combat medics, and fellow soldiers, to provide the best possible care they can in the field, making rigorous training crucial. Boardman said instructors try to integrate medical training throughout the training. The Ukrainians consistently say that "they'd like more of it because they're very conscious that it is literally lifesaving treatment." He said combat medicine is taught to Ukrainians from the very beginning, even in the course for new recruits. He explained that "it gives them enormous confidence in the event of themselves becoming a casualty or one of their colleagues." Training Ukraine's soldiers Boardman said that the course is structured around what any military recruit would need to survive and be effective, with some specifics for this war added, like drone warfare basics. "We probably teach them more than we would teach our British Army recruits because our British Army recruits don't go straight to war off the back of their basic training," Boardman said. He explained that "we're trying to make the soldiers not only able to survive in the environment but also be as lethal, as effective, as they can be." Much of the course is driven by what the Ukrainian soldiers say they need. For the Western trainers, the war that Ukraine is facing is unlike their own experiences. Ukraine is facing a major land war featuring trench warfare and artillery battles reminiscent of the World Wars mixed together with drone warfare unlike anything the world has seen before. The Ukrainians are battling a much larger adversary with key advantages in manpower, equipment, and industry. Boardman said that the dynamic is something instructors are aware of and act accordingly. He shared that Ukrainian commanders and sergeants often come from front-line units and "know very well how to clear a trench because they were doing it a few weeks ago. " Sometimes, the Ukrainians will push back on certain theories of war, noting that they didn't work when employed in combat. He said that the militaries doing the training hold institutional credibility from decades of experience, so "whatever the potential skepticism of experienced Ukrainian soldiers on arrival here, their chain of command, their senior headquarters have decided that it's worth their while to come here and be trained." But that doesn't mean it's rigid. The training is flexible and subject to changes based on feedback received even from the lower-ranking Ukrainian soldiers. "That wouldn't need to come as a letter from Kyiv to tell us to change that" Boardman shared. He said there is a "really rich mutual understanding going on" where the UK and partner countries carefully listen to the Ukrainians' experiences and share NATO doctrine in return, and "it ends up with the sum being much greater than the parts, which is really valuable for us." Boardman said the UK is approaching training "with a humility" and that the trainers are "learning a lot from the Ukrainians." Western nations, especially those in Europe, are increasingly concerned about the Russian threat, and their militaries are rapidly absorbing lessons from the war. "We are also feeding all that knowledge into the British Army," the colonel said.
Daily Record
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Russia demands UK stop training Ukrainian troops as Putin aide issues ultimatum
Moscow has claimed Britain is directly complicit in the conflict due to it training programme. Russia has issued a stark ultimatum to the UK to stop all military training and arms supplies to Ukraine or the war will not end. Rodion Miroshnik, a senior envoy in Vladimir Putin's foreign ministry, said that continued Western support — including the UK's long-running Operation Interflex — amounts to direct involvement in the conflict. Moscow insists the programme, which has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers on British soil, must be shut down, reports the Mirror. 'The participation or complicity of other countries is a key issue that must be stopped in all forms — including weapons deliveries and the training of Ukrainian militants,' Miroshnik told pro-Kremlin outlet Izvestia. 'Halting these programmes would be a signal of willingness to seek a resolution.' The warning came as Ukraine suffered its heaviest aerial bombardment of the war so far, with 537 Russian strikes recorded over the weekend. One of the attacks saw the downing of an F-16 fighter jet, killing pilot Lt-Col Maksym Ustymenko. President Volodymyr Zelensky posthumously awarded him the Hero of Ukraine honour, calling him 'one of our very best'. Zelensky last week joined UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to inspect Ukrainian troops in Britain, reinforcing the strong defence partnership between the two nations. That show of unity has drawn anger in Moscow. Russian officials doubled down on their claims that Western aid, including training and weapons, prolongs the war and escalates hostilities. Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia's upper house, said: 'Any aid that helps Ukraine continue fighting or preparing terrorist operations clearly does not promote conflict resolution. It is unequivocally hostile to Russia.' He added: 'This is a clear campaign against everything Russian — a full display of militarism. Ukrainians no longer have agency. They are being used as tools for NATO's strategic aims.' Oleg Karpovich, vice-rector of Moscow's Diplomatic Academy, went further — accusing Britain of having a hand in the deaths of Russian troops. 'In practice, they are participating in the killing of our citizens while coordinating terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime,' he claimed. Despite Russia's call for an end to military aid to Ukraine, it maintains its own heavy military operations — insisting its aim remains the 'demilitarisation' of Ukraine. The Kremlin's demands came just as signs emerged that former US President Donald Trump — long accused of being soft on Putin — may be shifting his stance. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham revealed that Trump had given the green light for a tough sanctions bill targeting Russia's economy. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. 'For the first time yesterday the president told me... 'it's time to move your bill',' Graham told ABC News. The legislation would slap a 500% tariff on goods from countries that buy Russian energy but do not support Ukraine — a direct swipe at China and India, who currently buy the lion's share of Putin's oil exports. Graham said the bill is designed to 'crush' Russia's war machine by cutting off its funding. Whether Trump follows through remains to be seen — but Moscow's threats and Washington's shift mark a new flashpoint in the drawn-out war.
