Dutch soldiers will also train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK next year. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren reports that the Marine Corps will prepare two batches of Ukrainians from January to March to fight Russian aggression in their country. The Netherlands is already providing training.
Ollongren visited troops in the north of England on Monday. The minister called the line-up of Ukrainian recruits and Dutch instructors “impressive”.
“Here I can see how motivated everyone is. Especially the conversations with the Ukrainian participants touched me deeply. Not only do they express the determination to defend their country in words, but you can see it in their eyes.”
According to her, the work is also very demanding from Dutch soldiers, who often have to train young people from recruit to soldier. In this year’s Interflex operation, around ten thousand new soldiers and a small number of experienced soldiers will be trained for the Ukrainian army in four months. According to the minister, this is almost achieved.
Ninety Dutch instructors are aiding the British Army in this, as are colleagues from Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Sweden. The costs for the Netherlands of the operation are estimated at € 7 million in total. This is paid for by an international security plate.
The training program lasts five weeks and consists of tactical training, weapons training and shooting training, medical assistance, explosives handling, humanitarian law of war and cyber threat management. “Normally, such a training lasts a few months. It is therefore very intense,” says Ollongren.
