SOUTH OF ENGLAND: The UK-led teams of military instructors, including those from partner countries, have so far trained around 32,000 Ukrainians under Operation Interflex within the UK with a plan to send them back to join the Ukrainian Army defending positions against Russia in Ukraine.
Speaking with a group of international journalists, Colonel James Thurstan said the programme is designed to equip the Ukrainian recruits with the basics of warfare. The mission focuses on the delivery of lethal and survivable soldiers equipped with the offensive spirit required to win on the battlefield. This reporter was on a field visit at the invitation of the UK government.
Col Thurstan heads the operation and is supported by instructors from other nations including Australia and New Zealand. He said, “The training will give volunteer recruits with little to no military experience the skills to be effective in frontline combat. “It allows them to be able to survive long enough in the conflict. It also gives them the defensive spirit to win the war.” Since the war started, the UK government has been one of the largest militaries to donate to Ukraine, with £2.3 billion committed in the years 2022 and 2023.
India’s stand in the United Nations on the Ukrainian crisis is well-known. V. Muraleedharan, the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, told Parliament: “Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, India has consistently called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the violence.