UK extends training of Ukrainian troops until at least end of 2026

On 24 August 2025 – Ukrainian Independence Day – the British government announced that it is extending the UK training programme for Ukrainian soldiers under Operation Interflex to at least the end of 2026.

Training support and military equipment from the UK “has helped give Ukraine a crucial boost on the frontline, with Russia continuing to lose far more vehicles and equipment to damage or destruction than Ukraine”, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated in a press release.

More than 50,000 Ukrainian recruits have been trained on British soil so far, with the UK leading 13 other nations providing support to the Interflex programme as one of the biggest schemes of its kind in the world.

The UK is also adapting Interflex training to best suit Ukraine’s evolving military requirements, with a gradual shift from prioritising shorter courses centred on basic combat skills training to a greater focus on leadership and instructor training. Two additional courses are now being delivered alongside the basic infantry course: one teaches soldiers how to be in command at a platoon and section leader level and the other is an instructor training course.

“Working closely with Ukraine means the UK armed forces can learn valuable insights and techniques from the battlefield, helping to improve skills and tactics. Support for Ukraine has also seen closer industrial collaboration, benefitting British businesses and supporting the government’s Plan for Change,” the UK MoD stated.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey was quoted as stating, “The UK is united for Ukraine. We will continue to step up our support alongside allies, so that Ukraine can defend today and deter tomorrow. In the face of ongoing Russian attacks, we must put Ukraine’s armed forces in the strongest possible position. And as the push for peace continues, we must make the Ukrainians into the strongest possible deterrent to secure that future peace.

“This matters to Ukraine and it matters to Britain,” Healey added. “A secure Ukraine is a secure Europe. From learning lessons from the battlefield to strengthen our own Armed Forces, to deepening our military industrial collaboration supporting jobs across the nation, Britain and Ukraine are growing closer than ever before.”

Operation Interflex training began as a five-week course to provide basic combat training to recruits, but following continued feedback and dialogue with Ukraine’s armed forces has since become a seven-week course and offers alternative courses specifically designed to boost leadership and command skills for personnel, with new courses introduced, tailored according to seniority of trainees.

Training a new generation of Ukrainian instructors is one of the most effective methods to strengthen Ukraine’s security both now and in the long-term, increasing skills and capacity to expand its own training programmes, the MoD stated, adding that this will help Ukraine continue to regenerate its military capabilities, which would act as the strongest deterrent against further attacks from Russian President Vladimir Putin under any peace deal.

New survey results of Ukrainian recruits who have completed training under Operation Interflex from January to August 2025 revealed that 83% of those on leadership courses said they felt more able to make their troops under their command survivable at the end of their leadership training, the MoD reported. The data also revealed that 93% of leadership trainees felt more confident they can make troops under their command more lethal at the end of their training.

The MoD added that recent open-source reporting indicates that support from the UK and other nations has helped Ukraine achieve remarkable results on the battlefield, with more than 4,000 Russian tanks having been reported destroyed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, compared with around 1,250 in Ukraine’s case. Reporting suggests that Russia has lost more than double the number of armoured vehicles compared to Ukraine, the MoD added. These figures are almost certainly drawn from the Oryx Ukraine War blog, which documents verified equipment losses.

Ukraine’s 2025 Independence Day marked 34 years since the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union.