Training activities in support of Ukraine

Training package

The Swedish Government has given the Swedish Armed Forces a framework mandate to carry out and take part in military training of Ukrainian citizens in 2024. Ongoing training activities are now being extended, with the possibility to supplement previous training initiatives with additional activities. This framework mandate will improve the Swedish Armed Forces’ ability to both plan their activities for the year and respond to urgent Ukrainian training needs when they arise.

This decision also means that the Armed Forces will be able to provide training both bilaterally and multilaterally, in Sweden or another EU or NATO member state. The decision also covers Ukrainian units’ access to Swedish territory.

The contents of the training package are based on experience from 2023 and assessments of new training requirements resulting from the recently established capability coalitions (with the framework of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group). It is estimated that upwards of 18 000 Ukrainian students will go through the training activities in which Swedish instructors take part in 2024.

The following training activities may become relevant with the support of this training package:

• training on military equipment that Sweden has donated;
• participation in various types of multilateral training activities, similar to Interflex or Interforge (which aims to provide training activities focused on amphibious warfare);
• training within the framework of one of the capability coalitions in which Sweden is a member, such as maritime education in the form of amphibious combat techniques, underwater mine clearance within the framework of the International Maritime Security Coalition or participation in various types of land mine clearance training activities in the Demining Coalition for Ukraine; and 
• leadership training, where Swedish instructors conduct courses for prospective group or platoon leaders, as well as tactical training for staff officers.

Training in JAS 39 Gripen

The Swedish Armed Forces have been commissioned to provide orientation training for Ukrainian pilots and associated aeronautical personnel in JAS 39. The background to this is that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have expressed a wish to be able to evaluate JAS 39 operationally, since one of the most urgent measures is to strengthen Ukrainian air defence with a NATO-interoperable fighter aircraft system. 

JAS 39 is highly capable of operating in the requested air defence role and as an attack and reconnaissance aircraft. JAS 39 Gripen is fully NATO-interoperable and was developed to be able to operate from scattered road bases, which has proved crucial for the survival of the Ukrainian Air Force. In addition, JAS 39 can be rapidly refuelled and rearmed, where conscripts are used in the preflight inspection and servicing of the aircraft.

EUMAM Ukraine

Since spring 2023, Sweden is participating in the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine). Swedish instructors are contributing to medical training and infantry battalion training conducted at the Special Training Command (ST-C), one of the mission’s two force headquarters, in Germany. 

Within the framework of EUMAM, Sweden has also conducted training on donated military materiel. The mission provides basic and specialised training for Ukrainian soldiers on EU Member States’ territory. The strategic objective is to strengthen the military capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces so that Ukraine can defend its territorial integrity and effectively exercise its sovereignty.

EUMAM Ukraine is led by the EU’s Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) in Brussels, which serves as a strategic and operational headquarters for the mission. Sweden has contributed personnel reinforcements to the MPCC since the autumn of 2022 and will continue doing so until November 2024. 

Interflex

In addition, Sweden contributes to the British-led Operation Interflex, which conducts basic military training for Ukrainian citizens. In 2022 Sweden participated in the form of 60 staff officers and/or instructors, and will continue to contribute in 2023.

Demining training in Lithuania

On 22 December 2022, the Government decided that Sweden will help train Ukrainian demining sappers. In the project, the Swedish Armed Forces will train 48 Ukrainian instructors who will then train 100 demining sappers each in Ukraine. This means that around 4 800 people will have been trained in demining by the end of the year. The Swedish instructors will be detached from the Swedish EOD and Demining Centre (Swedec), which is Sweden’s centre of excellence for national and international missions in ammunition and demining.

Demining is crucial for the mobility of the Ukrainian units in general, but is particularly important for the mobility of the mechanised infantry units when carrying out an offensive. A high attack rate is then crucial for being able to win terrain while not risking being opposed. Military logistics also rely on mobility, as much of the support that the attacking units require consists of various types of transports. A well-developed demining capability also supports civil society during the war and is of central importance for Ukraine's recovery.

The training is taking place in Lithuania as part of Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) and began in March. Lithuania supports the operation by granting land for use as exercise terrain, and logistics. Instructors from Sweden, Iceland and Norway participate in the training, which will be carried out four times during 2023.