Dogs have saved “hundreds” of Ukrainian lives by detecting Russian landmines on the front line, a serviceman has said.
The 24-year-old is one of 20 Ukrainians learning dog handling techniques from the British Army at a barracks in the East Midlands, as part of Operation Interflex.
Speaking through an interpreter at the barracks, the serviceman said he had always wanted to be a dog handler and that he is “proud” of working with them during the war.
“I really like the idea that I can pass on this knowledge,” he added. “They save tens or hundreds of lives.”
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The soldier, who cannot be named for security reasons, also said he and others have “got a lot” out of their UK training as it lets troops “experiment in order to become better”.
“When different sabotage groups are entering the area and they are mining the roads, for example, we are using dogs there to be able to go through this area safely,” he added.
“We have lots of different areas where the combat actions are not so active, but there is still a threat there, so there is a threat to life.”
Sergeant Chris Jacques, of the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, said the dog handling training involves using “stress factors” such as replicating battlefield sounds.
“It’s important to give something back and also to see, especially in the current climate, how dogs can be used in the environment [Ukrainians] find themselves in at the minute,” he said.
“We see what challenges they’ve had to deal with, we see what factors they’re having to consider which we, at the minute, aren’t having to consider, and they’ve been really engaging.”
Armed forces minister Luke Pollard added that military working dogs “are an irreplaceable part of our defence forces,” and said: “Their keen instincts, unwavering loyalty and remarkable ability to detect threats makes them vital to protecting our personnel.
“We owe them and their handlers a deep debt of gratitude for their service.”
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The Ministry of Defence said more than 45,000 Ukrainians have received training in the UK since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
It comes after the National Audit Office (NAO) said in a report that Operation Interflex “constrains” the British Army’s ability to train its own troops.
The parliamentary body said that as a result of the operation, Army units bidding for training areas were rejected eight times more often last year than in 2019.
The NAO report did not seek to evaluate the strategic case for supporting Ukraine or reach conclusions on value for money, and was intended only to set out the facts regarding what support was being provided.
