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Confrontation video has revealed the bloody level of realism Australian soldiers are exposing Ukrainian troops to as they train for the horrors of the front line against Russian invaders.
In a particularly graphic exercise, Ukrainian soldiers applied a tourniquet to a leg that appeared to have been blown off as the ‘wounded’ man screamed in pain clutching his wound.
A contingent of 70 Australian soldiers has been stationed in Britain since January, rigorously preparing 20,000 Ukrainian recruits to be battle-ready in the killing fields of eastern Ukraine, where the war with Russia has become a stalemate. bloody.
In February, Australian soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, deployed in Operation Kudu, trained Ukrainians in tactical survival skills by spending days outdoors in an unidentified woodland in southern England.
During the frigid days and nights, where temperatures dipped to 0C, the Ukrainians practiced the deadly skirmishes that occur daily in their own forested areas as soldiers face each other up close.
Australian trainers have been relentless in exposing Ukrainian recruits to the brutal reality of war.
In one particularly graphic drill, soldiers spotted a comrade with a broken leg and secured a position around him while trying to stem the flow of blood from the realistic-looking amputated limb.
The Ukrainians also practiced maneuvers in the dark, lying in wait to ambush an enemy patrol and dragging a wounded or dead comrade from the combat area.
“The training they (the Ukrainians) have been doing for the past three days consists of section battle exercises,” an anonymous Australian section commander said.
‘When they are patrolling and they are contacted by the enemy, it is the actions they take.
‘It is suppressing the enemy, regaining the initiative and fixing the enemy in his place.
‘The training we provide is to increase the survivability of the trainees when they return to Ukraine.’
The Ukrainians have been training graphically realistically in the woods of England for what they may face when they return to fight the Russians.
An unidentified Ukrainian recruit, who worked as a television producer before joining the defense forces to fight the Russian invasion, said the training was proving invaluable.
“I’ve learned a lot,” he said through an integrated interpreter.
‘How to move in a group. How to help. This must be practiced hundreds of times so that when the battle begins, you can use this knowledge.
“If you train a lot of soldiers according to NATO standards, it will help all of us in combat.”
Although exhausted, the recruits were responding well, according to the Diggers.
A Ukrainian recruit waits in a simulated ambush for an enemy vehicle while training in southern England.
“The recruits take the information very well and have expressed appreciation for the training,” said an Australian NCO.
“I 100 percent believe that the training we provide will increase their survivability as we have taught them to work as a team.”
In March, Ukrainian recruits were subjected to other realistic battlefield conditions while training in trench warfare, reflecting what is happening in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has begun to resemble carnage in large numbers. static part of the First World War.
The Ukrainians were trained in developing a trench system while fatigued, conducting reconnaissance of enemy positions and offensive patrolling.
A Ukrainian man practices his marksmanship while training with an Australian troop in southern England.
For the purposes of the exercise, the Australian soldiers played the role of the enemy.
“We’ve been checking them sporadically overnight to increase their fatigue levels and simulate the kind of situations they may see in the coming weeks,” an Australian platoon commander said.
‘The training is realistic and demanding – mimicking the high-stress, high-risk environment in which trainees will need to be able to operate effectively.
‘Some of the students already have trench warfare experience in the (Russian-Ukrainian) war, so learning has been mutual at times.
“There are many soldiers who have come from the front lines, who are about to return directly, so this training is the most realistic for them.”
The goal of the training is to be as realistic as possible about what the Ukrainians might face on the battlefield.
More recently, the Ukrainians have been conducting live ammunition training in aiming and movement while shooting.
Most of the training provided to Ukrainians in the UK is provided by British soldiers, but there are also contingents of military trainers from New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
No Australian personnel will enter Ukraine as part of the operation.
A Ukrainian recruit has expressed his appreciation for the training being given by Australian troops
