A front-line commander has revealed that some British volunteers are failing to pass basic training for the Ukrainian military.
Wannabe fighters from the UK have been joining the fight against Vladimir Putin’s army in numbers since the full-scale invasion of 2022.
However, some of those choosing to travel east are struggling when the reality of frontline warfare kicks in.
According to Lt Col Roman Myrnyi of the Khartia Brigade, who oversees several battalions of foreign fighters, there had been good and bad experiences with British volunteers.
“Some of the Brits who came over to fight have not made it past basic training, but others are strong and willing,” he told the Express.
“We currently have one Englishman who leads by example. He shows discipline, endurance and it’s very nice to work with him. He understands immediately and does not need things explained 10 times over. I can see him becoming a sergeant.”
Myrnyi’s revelation about the inconsistent performance of British volunteers comes after The Daily Telegraph reported that concerns the country is not ready for war had prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to begin secret preparations for an attack by Russia.
However, defence analyst and strategic consultant Nicolas Drummond said it was important not to place too much emphasis on the plight of some of the volunteers in Ukraine.
“There is a danger of reading into much into [volunteer dropouts],” he told the Express. “Two types of people from the UK are going to Ukraine to sign up. One is the ex-soldier with lots of experience who just wants to carry on, then there’s this sort of Walter Mitty-type character; somebody who does not have military experience who once they get out there and discover the reality of the situation [and] has a big shock.”
In Drummond’s eyes, the situation was actually evidence of how effective the UK’s military is at preparing people for war.
“It just shows you how good British Army training is because when people join, they are not sent to fight until they are properly equipped and trained to do so,” he added.
“We have a very good army. The question is; if we had to expand it quickly, could we maintain standards? And that’s what we should be asking.
“My own personal belief is that you need a minimum of 100,000 [troops] to source; two deployable divisions and a reserve division. The Navy and RAF needs 50,000 too. So 200,000 all told.”
Drummond does believe improvements are needed in the supply of weapons and modern warfare divisions.
“If we go to war tomorrow, [there is a point where we’d] run out of missiles. So we need to get on with that.
“We [also] need to start producing drones at massive scale because the FPV drone has become almost like a modern rifle on the battlefield.”
Drummond said the shift in policy by the USA towards Russia meant Britain needed to take its efforts boost its defence capatilities incredibly seriously.
“[Britain] and Europe thought that America would take over in Ukraine and sort it out and so that we would not need to spend big on defence.
“[But] that’s, that’s not the case. If we want a place at the negotiating table we have to invest in and of course deterrence is always better than actually fighting a war, which is so much more expensive.
“The longer we leave ramping up defence expenditure, the more we’re going to have to spend and the faster we’re going to have to spend it.”
