The Ukrainian pilots trained in the UK to fight Putin

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Every morning Vlad* wakes up certain that this day will be the day he dies.

A combat helicopter pilot in the Ukrainian air force, he has been working near the front lines since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“My life has changed completely,” he told The i Paper. “Your thoughts are like, ‘Okay, so today I’m gonna die.’ It changes your life. But we keep fighting, and fortunately I’m still alive.”

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While hundreds of thousands of Ukraine’s military personnel are conscripts or volunteers who joined after the invasion, most of its pilots were already enlisted. Vlad was already serving when the war began and was plunged straight into the centre of the conflict, playing a crucial role in destroying incoming drones and ground targets.

Now, Vlad is one of hundreds of Ukrainian aviators who have travelled to the UK to advance their training in aviation language, flying and teaching, as part of a programme with the UK, US and other allies to support Ukraine’s war efforts. The i Paper is not allowed to name the base for security reasons.

The RAF is training not only pilots but also instructors, in the hope they can return to Ukraine and develop a new generation of pilots themselves. Ukrainian land forces are already training with the British Army on sites across the UK.

Vlad was enrolled on an instructor course, learning how to better train the “baby pilots” newly joining the Ukrainian military, from the psychology of recruits to delivering effective lessons. He said the course has been “really important” and there “is much information to gain for us to implement in Ukrainian flying programs”.

At the same time, the biggest fuel for his ongoing work is his young son, living in the west of Ukraine, who has become accustomed to hearing warning sirens during the school day and hiding underground as missiles fly overhead.

“It’s not normal for children to live life like this, but it’s reality,” he said. “We understand that our families are behind us, so if we let the enemy go further, they will just kill our families, our wives and children. So we just have no choice.”

Ukrainian aviators have travelled to the UK to train as part of a programme with the UK and other Nato allies (Photo: Sherina Bhundia)

The first stage in the course is learning English, which is used across Nato flight missions to ensure clear communication between pilots and ground teams, and in handbooks for some of the world’s top fighter jets.

From those who complete the English course, a smaller group are selected to continue on to flight training, including aviation medicine and high G-force exercises. As of January, 340 Ukrainians have completed the English training course and 42 have finished the pilot training.

They will then travel to partner countries including Denmark and the US for further training on F-16s, before returning to the front lines in Ukraine.

A typical day for the pilots starts at 7am with breakfast and a morning brief, before a meeting with a British instructor about their flight plans for the day. They then take to the skies, followed by a debrief on any mistakes and advice on how they can improve for the next sortie.

After that, they have time to go to the gym or chill out with friends, playing pool or watching football.

“We have a big friendship between Ukrainian pilots and English pilots,” pilot Artem* said.

Maksym*, a fellow pilot, said the group had a lot of experience flying in Ukraine but now understand flying in Nato airspace under Nato procedures, which they hope will allow them to work more closely with the military alliance in the future.

EASTERN UKRAINE - JULY 31: The Sukhoi Su-25 ??Grach?? pilot of the Ukrainian tactical aviation, NATO reporting name: Frogfoot, prepares for a combat flight on August 1, 2023 in eastern Ukraine. Earlier this year, several NATO members committed to providing warplanes to Ukraine, including Poland and Slovakia, who announced the transfer of MiG-29s. The planes had been used by Ukraine since before Russia's large-scale invasion in February 2022 and Ukrainian pilots were familiar with the Soviet-era aircraft. (Photo by Libkos/Getty Images)(Photo by Libkos/Getty Images)
The RAF is also training instructors in the hope they can return to Ukraine and develop a new generation of pilots (Photo: Libkos/Getty)

“When it comes to Ukrainian airspace, we have such a different system of flying, and this practice can allow us to open a new type of flying,” he said.

Some graduates of the pilot course, who have excelled on their return to Ukraine, have come back to the UK to train as instructors.

The most valuable skill, according to Maksym, is how to fly at low levels without any GPS system, avoiding detection and navigating from the landmarks around you.

“That’s really important because on the Ukrainian front line Russian troops are jamming all navigation systems, and our pilots just use maps or some features on the ground, like rivers or mountains,” he told The i Paper. “So that’s really important for us.”

Before the war, both Maksym and Artem were enrolled at Ukraine’s National Air Force University, and Artem had just signed a contract with the armed forces of Ukraine. But they were not expecting to see combat imminently.

“The full-scale invasion changed everything,” Artem said. “It changed our attitude to life, to our lifestyle… We started thinking more about families, about our point, why we’re here, and what we can do to finish this bloody war.”

The pilots are all scrambling to qualify from the UK-based programs as quickly as possible, Artem added, in order to get back to the front lines.

“It was our childhood dream to be pilots. Now, it’s not only our childhood dream; we know that it’s our duty to protect our country, to protect our airspace and finish this war.”

*Names changed to protect identity

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