Almost 200 Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) recruits recently graduated from a UK-led and based training programme.

This contingent of nearly 200 soldiers was the first to be trained by Australians deployed on Operation Kudu, as part of the UK-led, multinational effort. Approximately 70 Australian soldiers from the 1st Brigade have joined partner nations for the UK-led and based training program for Ukrainian recruits. Over 10,000 Ukrainians have already been trained by the nine partner nations to date.

The latest rotation of the volunteer force was taught weapons handling and firing, wooded and urban fighting, trench warfare and medical survival skills by Australian instructors who arrived in the UK in January. The recently graduated recruits received intensive combat training to rapidly assimilate the foundations of warfighting, using realistic and relevant scenarios designed to mimic the current conditions in Ukraine.