Experienced Ukrainian soldiers show their Western instructors their battlefield creativity forged by years of war, even as some of these same troops still need help with basic military skills like straight shooting.
Ukrainian soldiers learn Western methods of war in Jomsborg camp in Poland. The Norwegian-led training is intended to strengthen fundamental struggleleadership and planning skills. But the exchange goes both ways. Trainers say the Ukrainians are also bringing innovative modern war solutions to the table.
Brigadier General Atle Molde, the commander of Task Force Legio, the multinational command that supports the training of Ukraine’s armed forces, told Business Insider that Ukraine’s ability to “improvise in a very urgent situation is nothing but admirable.”
“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s the way they can improvise, adapt, fix things, develop, evolve and change.”
He said these talents are “something to take home and learn from,” as Norway studies Ukraine’s battlefield experiences to draw lessons it can apply to its own military. Other Western partners are increasingly so work directly with Ukraine for the same reason, they are seeking to improve parts of their own warfighting capabilities as they prepare for the possibility of broader conflict with Russia.
Jørgen, a Norwegian army instructor for the camp’s platoon leader course who asked to be identified only by his first name, said that “in general they are much more creative than we can be.” He attributed this in part to the fact that Ukraine has less standardized procedures than its partners. “I think that’s a strength.”
Ukrainian soldiers are trained in a specially built camp in Poland. Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret
Officers with other training programs, such as the British-led Operation Interflexhave also praised Ukrainian creativity, saying they are often “much bigger.” tactical imagination.”
But that ingenuity on the battlefield sometimes comes with gaps in basic military skills.
Need the basics
“I’ll give you a specific example,” Molde said. “We have had soldiers from Ukraine with two years of battlefield experience who cannot shoot their rifles straight
Some were quickly mobilized without the kind of basic training that Western militaries typically provide. Small arms are also in play a much more limited role on the battlefield dominated by artillery and drones, so the real world experience may not be high.
Major John, the S3 Operations Officer who helps coordinate training at the camp, told Business Insider that the Ukrainians “showed us a lot of different creative methods.”
But “at the same time, conventional knowledge in some units was not that great,” he added, on the condition that only his rank and first name would be used.
“Ukrainian soldiers arriving in Jomsborg have different levels of skills and experience,” NATO said in a description of the camp. Some are “hardened combat veterans who want to learn advanced tactics,” while others are troops who need “infantry combat skills.”
“At a minimum, trainees receive thorough instruction in marksmanship under stress, effective combat communications, and infantry movements at the platoon and company levels,” the report said.
Concerns have long existed about the level of basic training of Ukrainian soldiers, especially early in the war, when masses of inexperienced troops were mobilized and moved to the front, placing much of the training burden on frontline commanders. They found that many of the newly mobilized soldiers lacked fundamental skills such as marksmanship and maneuverability.
Ukraine expanded its basic training to 51 days last year, focusing on shooting and counter-drone tactics. “It is worth mentioning the level of marksmanship training: 137 hours of practice and 56 shooting exercises with different weapons,” the Ministry of Defense wrote in its description. “Mandatory training also includes countermeasures against enemy UAVs.”
Yet basic skills can be unevenly distributed.
An exchange of skills
The Ukrainians, John said, “are innovative. They use new technologies. We try to learn from that. And then we try to give them competencies regarding the conventional methods, planning methods, military decision-making processes and so on.
Together, he said, “this ensures a good result.”
Ukrainian troops impress their Western trainers with their ingenuity on the battlefield, but sometimes still need training in certain basic skills. Synne Nilsson/Forsvaret
John said that while Ukraine excels in many areas, the extensive military experience that Western partners bring “still has value.”
Ukraine’s combat experiences are built into camp training because, as Molde said, it would be “stupid” not to. Ukraine has been at war with Russia for years, intensely since the 2022 full-scale invasion, but even before that in the Donbas. They understand Russian tactics, and they understand modern warfare.
John said the camp is considered a Ukrainian facility, with Ukraine determining its training needs and Ukrainian instructors working alongside Western instructors.
Molde said it makes sense that Ukraine is often more creative than its partners. War forces rapid innovation. Throughout military history, “the innovation wheel turns very slowly in peacetime. And when a war breaks out, suddenly this rotation is 10 times, 100 times as fast,” he said.
That leaves Camp Jomsborg with an unusual training dynamic. Ukrainians bring lessons learned from a rapidly evolving war, while Western partners provide conventional military expertise that some Ukrainian units were never able to build.
Molde said both groups could “evolve in parallel.”
