An unexpected shortage of competent interpreters has become a problem facing Ukrainian military personnel during training in the West, the Financial Times reports.
Martin Bonn, Deputy Head of the European Union Training Mission for Ukraine, noted: "Interpreters are the number one problem. A big problem is translating words used in a military or technical context. Words that no one uses in everyday life."
Problems with language also arose during the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters. The Danish military noted that delays in training were caused not only by safety checks, but also by insufficient language proficiency and health checks.
The European instructors highly appreciated the motivation of the Ukrainian recruits, but noted differences in age and abilities of the students. According to the publication, military commanders on the front line prefer to retain their experienced soldiers, which also affects the quality of training.
One case stands out: one volunteer who went to Germany for training was already 71 years old.
The instructors admit that the realities on the ground were more difficult than they expected.
"It is very difficult. We are looking for ways to prepare Ukrainians to act in such an environment," Bonn said.
The article also draws attention to the key challenges, which are not mines, but difficult terrain, radio-electronic warfare from Russia, and the use of UAVs.
