Canada to Train Ukrainian Soldiers in UK

The Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Anita Anand has authorized the deployment of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel to train new recruits from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as they seek to increase the size of their ground forces in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Under Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s military training and capacity building mission in Ukraine, the CAF will deploy up to 225 personnel to the United Kingdom, the majority of whom will work as trainers, supported by a command and control element, for an initial deployment of approximately four months. The first of up to three training cohorts, consisting of approximately 90 soldiers, will be largely drawn from 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based out of Edmonton, Alberta. They are scheduled to depart on 12 August and will begin leading courses in the weeks’ following.

The first Canadian-led courses will take place at a military base located in South East England, and will teach a flexible curriculum focused on individual skills required for frontline combat, including weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics and the Law of Armed Conflict

Operation UNIFIER was launched in 2015 at the request of the Ukrainian government, and early this year, was expanded and extended until March 2025. Aspects of the mission were temporarily paused following the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with a commitment to resume training when and where conditions permitted. Since February 2022, Canada has committed or delivered $626 million in military assistance to Ukraine, including M777 howitzer artillery guns with replacement barrels and compatible ammunition, as well as specialized drone cameras and Armoured Combat Support Vehicles, and associated training.

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence commented: “Despite the heinous Russian invasion of Ukraine, Operation UNIFIER has continued, and this new aspect is only the latest in a series of activities by Canada that has trained well over 33,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2015. When we paused training in Ukraine this past winter, we said clearly that we would resume the training whenever and wherever the opportunity arose.  We made good on the promise providing training on Canadian donated artillery and munitions in third nations, which continues. By working with the United Kingdom, we will continue to make good on that promise. Canada salutes the courage and bravery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and we will continue to help empower them with the skills that they need to defend their nation’s freedom and independence.”