A contingent of Australian troops will be farewelled in Darwin as they prepare to fly to the United Kingdom and help train Ukrainian recruits preparing to fight Russian forces.
The Australian Mission, Operation Kudu, will see about 70 personnel fly out from Robertson Barracks in the Northern Territory this week to join Operation Interflex, a UK-led mission which has already trained around 10,000 Ukrainians.
Troops from a host of countries across Europe – as well as Canada and New Zealand – already offered training to Ukrainian forces in 2022 under the mission. Defence Minister Richard Marles first announced Australia would join the international effort in October last year.
The Commanding Officer of 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gilmore, told the ABC that the deploying troops would be getting Ukrainians recruits as "combat ready" as possible.
"They're a group of outstanding young men and women soldiers … [who'll] be training the recruits in infantry tactics in an urban, wooded and basic infantry tactics to best prepare them for potential future conflict," he said.
"They're going to be providing essential training to the armed forces in the Ukraine, to really support the Ukrainian soldiers to end this conflict on their terms."
Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australians would be training "citizen soldiers" from Ukraine.
"It's people who are giving up their day jobs to help fight for their country, and the heart is very much there," he said.
"The training that will be provided by the Australian troops will give these Ukrainian soldiers the skills they need to equip them on the battlefield.
"It'll save lives and it'll keep Ukraine in the fight, which is really important."
After the training, the Ukrainian fighters will re-join their army to take up the fight in their home country, where the conflict with invading Russian forces rages on.
The 70 or so soldiers travelling from Darwin are predominantly from 1st Brigade and have taken the unusual step of training with AK-47 rifles, a weapon many Ukrainians use in combat.
British defence secretary thanks 'brave souls' for joining
Britain and other Western countries have ploughed substantial resources into Operation Interflex, seeing at as a key part of efforts to bolster Ukraine's defences and sap Russia's military strength.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said the mission will train an additional 20,000 recruits this year, with Australia's first rotation running now ahead of another three deployments.
Addressing the UK Parliament on Monday night in London, Mr Wallace thanked Australia for its participation.
"I am pleased to say that we are to be joined by a group of Australian military to train in the UK as well — leaving their summer to join our winter, brave souls."
Mr Wallace said that none of these exercises could be considered acts of aggression by participating countries against Russia.
"None of the international support is an attack on Russia, or NATO-orchestrated aggression, let alone a proxy war," he said.
"At its heart, it is about helping Ukraine to defend itself, upholding international law and restoring its own sovereignty."
'An evolution' in Australia's support for Ukraine
Australia has already provided material support to Ukraine, but Associate Professor Matthew Sussex, a senior fellow at the ANU's the Centre for Defence, told the ABC the step-up was still noteworthy.
"It's an evolution beyond Bushmaster fighting vehicles, howitzer's and the odd drone, to actually provide the ongoing support in a real way that will provide Ukrainians with the capacity to resist the Russian invasion," he said.
"We can't provide lots of high-end kit, like some of the other countries, but we are very good at training."
Already Australia's contribution is more than half a billion at, $655 million, with $475 million of that funding in military support with the supply of 90 Bushmaster armoured vehicles.
Another $65 million has been provided in humanitarian aid.
Mr Sussex said he didn't think Australia's participation in the international operation would expose it to any new risks of retaliation from Russia, including cyber attacks.
"While we may have those fears [of Russian retaliation], these are things we need to build resilience against within our own society. Unfortunately, this is going to be the way of the future," he said.
