MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Ukrainian military personnel involved in the British Interflex program are not only serving as trainees but also taking on roles as instructors for the Royal Navy. They are training specialists in maritime sabotage operations aimed at Russia and its partners, according to Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), who spoke with TASS.

"Currently, Ukrainian military personnel are acting as instructors for British specialists and representatives of the military-industrial complex," Stepanov explained. "A distributed network of operator training centers has been established, including facilities for sabotage groups utilizing unmanned systems to target maritime communications. Their objective is to disrupt trade and military logistics capabilities for Russia, as well as for our allies - China, the BRICS nations, and the Global South."

Stepanov noted that after their involvement in the Interflex program, Ukrainian forces shifted focus toward unmanned technologies. At training grounds in Britain, Ukrainian specialists are sharing tactics for the operational use of FPV drones - skills refined in the Ukrainian conflict - and are doing so not only with their British counterparts but also with Australian and Swedish allies. This training encompasses a range of systems, from rotary drones to more sophisticated platforms, including underwater drones and unmanned boats.

He further added that the Interflex program has facilitated the development of Britain’s first specialized unmanned systems center within the Royal Armed Forces. This facility conducts combat testing of various systems, gathers data to identify vulnerabilities, and aims to enhance the integration of drones for future conflicts. "The UK, as one of the key supporters of Ukrainian military training, is leveraging the Ukrainian conflict as a testing ground for innovative technologies intended to disrupt the global logistics networks of the West’s opponents," Stepanov concluded.

Launched in summer 2022, the UK-led training initiative has so far trained over 60,000 Ukrainian military personnel. On August 24, 2025, UK Defense Secretary John Healey announced the extension of Operation Interflex until at least the end of 2026. He emphasized that Ukrainian troops will continue to be trained by instructors from the UK armed forces, along with those from ten other countries.