As winter eases across Europe, more Australian troops are preparing to depart the tropical climes of Darwin to train Ukrainian soldiers to fight.
As part of the second rotation of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in Operation Kudu, 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment soldiers will join soldiers from several other nations to train Ukrainians to fight in the brutal war against Russia, now in its second year.
They will be contributing to Operation Interflex, a British-led mission which has the ambitious goal of training 20,000 Ukrainian troops this year, some of whom have no combat experience and have never fired a weapon.
Australian National University professor John Blaxland, an expert on international intelligence and security, said Operation Kudu, while important, needed to be put in context.
“Australia’s contribution is significant. But it needs to be kept in perspective,” he said.
“We are one of a number of contributing nations, and our contribution is a relatively small one.”
With the war in its second year, Mr Blaxland — a former Australian Army officer — said Australia’s support for the Ukrainian resistance was creating a conundrum for the government.
In its military support to Ukraine, Australia has provided Bushmaster vehicles, howitzers, ammunition, supplies and — most significantly — training of troops.
Mr Blaxland said that support risked stretching Australia’s defence capability at home.
“We have a boutique defence force that is already actually challenged to meet its operational requirements in terms of preparing forces, training, and deploying on contingencies in Australia and around the region,” he said.
Mr Blaxland said his main concern was that global support would not be enough for Ukraine to win the war against Russia.
“We need to be thinking strategically about how we help Ukraine get to a point, an inflection point, where their future is secured, where they may not get everything they want,” he said.
“But where Russia is contained, where Russia’s ambitions are thwarted, but not necessarily completely defeated.”
Australian troops making ‘very noticeable’ contribution
Darwin-based Ukrainian-Australian Andrew Renkas has been teaching ADF soldiers basic Ukrainian language skills before they leave for the UK.
He said his compatriots back in Ukraine remained resolute in their determination to win the war against Russia more than a year after the conflict began.
Australian troops making ‘very noticeable’ contribution
Darwin-based Ukrainian-Australian Andrew Renkas has been teaching ADF soldiers basic Ukrainian language skills before they leave for the UK.
He said his compatriots back in Ukraine remained resolute in their determination to win the war against Russia more than a year after the conflict began.
Australian troops making ‘very noticeable’ contribution
Darwin-based Ukrainian-Australian Andrew Renkas has been teaching ADF soldiers basic Ukrainian language skills before they leave for the UK.
He said his compatriots back in Ukraine remained resolute in their determination to win the war against Russia more than a year after the conflict began.
Source: ABC News
