Watchdog Warns That Training Ukrainian Soldiers May Impact UK’s Defense Programs
The UK has allocated £7.8 billion in military support for Ukraine from January 2022 to March 2025, training over 40,000 soldiers in the process.
Providing training facilities for Ukrainian troops has impacted the British armed forces’ training programmes, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO).
More than a quarter of the Army’s training estate is now dedicated to Operation Interflex, the UK’s Ukrainian training program, resulting in significant constraints on British army training opportunities.
Due to the demands of Operation Interflex, British army unit requests to use training sites on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) estate were rejected at an increased rate in 2023 compared to 2019.
The NAO report acknowledged that the British army’s capacity to train its own soldiers has been constrained by Operation Interflex, prompting collaboration with international partners and the Army Reserve to mitigate the impact.
Operation Interforge, which focuses on training Ukrainian marines, was relocated to the Netherlands in February due to training facility limitations in the UK affecting the Royal Marines’ own training needs.
The NAO conducted the investigation in response to public and parliamentary interest regarding the MoD’s support for Ukraine and its associated costs.
The report highlighted that a total of £7.8 billion has been committed to military support for Ukraine between January 2022 and March 2025, funded through the Treasury’s Reserve.
In addition to financial support, the UK has also supplied equipment worth £2.4 billion and donated additional equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with plans to replace this equipment by 2030-31.
Over 3,000 deliveries of supplies have been made to the Armed Forces of Ukraine so far.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has continued its support by training over 42,000 AFU personnel under Operation Interflex, surpassing the set target.
The NAO’s report recognized the positive impact of UK training on Ukrainian troops’ ability to defend their country against Russia’s invasion.
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that Operation Interflex will continue throughout 2025 to support Ukrainian troops.
PA Media contributed to this report.
