The National Audit Office (NAO), a UK parliamentary body, noted that providing training to Ukrainian recruits has reduced the availability of training facilities for the British Army.

This is stated in the NAO’s report on British military assistance for Ukraine.

It regards the work of the mission to train Ukrainian soldiers, known as Operation Interflex.

“The MoD now has to “balance the UK’s strategic interests with maintaining the UK’s own military capabilities,” said Gareth Davies, head of the NAO.

It is noted that about a quarter of the UK’s military training facilities were used for the training mission.

As a result, requests from the British army to use certain training grounds were reportedly rejected eight times more often in 2023 than in 2019.

The report notes that the Ministry of Defense has recognized that Operation Interflex will limit the ability to train its own military.

It also noted that the Operation Interforge training program for Ukrainian marines, in which the United Kingdom is also actively involved, was decided to be moved to the Netherlands because it would not be possible to combine it with the training of the British Marines.

The report also mentioned remarks from the Ukrainian side about the lack of attention to the use of drones and electronic warfare due to regulatory restrictions in the UK.

After the report’s publication, the British Ministry of Defense stated that all military personnel have access to the training facilities necessary to maintain combat capability.

“But we welcome the NAO report, which recognizes that Ukrainians will be better able to defend their country against Russia’s illegal invasion thanks to the training provided by Britain,” the MoD said.

They also added that more than 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers have completed the training mission since 2022, and 89% of them have given positive feedback on the level of training.