British troops give Ukrainian soldiers a festive send-off ahead of return to frontline

UK troops have given hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers a Christmas send-off as they prepare to return to the frontline in their war against Russia.

After five weeks of leadership training with the British Army, the junior NCOs (non-commissioned officers) are going home.

Before their departure, at an undisclosed camp in southwest England, British military chefs produced hundreds of Ukrainian festive meals, while a choir made up of Ukrainian refugees sang seasonal hymns.

Priests from the Ukrainian cathedral in London blessed the food.

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This year will be the first time Ukraine celebrates Christmas on 25 December after President Zelensky signed a new law abandoning the Russian orthodox date of 7 December in favour of the Western calendar. 

During their time in the UK, the Ukrainian troops were kitted out with all the essential clothing they needed for their training - and the fighting to come.

They returned to the location at the end of their training to collect a few more essentials, including a combat first aid kit, before flying home.

The military calls the process HAP - Handling And Processing. It has been going on for nearly two years and 32,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been through it during that time.

Major Andy Tang, the Officer Commanding of Handling and Processing, told Forces News: "Every day, or every other day, we'll process up to 800 Ukrainians within a 24-hour period.

"So my soldiers will pick them up from the airhead, bring them back to this facility, feed and accommodate them overnight, and then the following day give them a full black bag kit issue.

"That's 65-70 items - everything that a soldier would need to do week one, day one of basic training.

"They're immensely grateful. I mean the kit that we give them is first-class kit, battle-winning, it will protect them if they're in a firefight, really good quality kit."

Each course that comes through receives 13,000 items of kit from a warehouse that stocks up to 3.5 million pieces.

The tri-service operation involves dozens of Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force personnel working shoulder to shoulder.

It is overseen by 156 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps - a reserve supply regiment based in northwest England.

Many of the Ukrainians have already seen months of frontline combat and have lost countless comrades.

Twenty-three-year-old Dmytro, who served for four years in the Donbas and along the eastern front, told Forces News he took part in the liberation of the Kharkiv region.

During the counter-offensive, he got his second injury, but successfully destroyed two Russian tanks "thanks to British NLAWs".

Former policeman Maksym, who fought the Russians in Bakhmut, said he was very grateful for British support.

He said it helps to keep up morale, knowing there is someone there supporting you.

After leaving the camp, the soldiers are bussed to an airhead somewhere in the UK and flown to Poland.

They will be back in Ukraine with their units within days, putting their training and British-supplied kit to good use as they prepare for a second Christmas at war.