Military dogs save ‘hundreds’ of lives in Ukraine, says handler

A Ukrainian serviceman who dreamed of working with dogs said the animals save “hundreds” of lives by detecting unexploded landmines on the front line.

The 24-year-old, who cannot be identified for security reasons, is one of 20 Ukrainians learning dog handling techniques from British Army personnel at a barracks in the East Midlands during a three-week training course.

It is part of Operation Interflex, which began in 2022 to support Ukraine’s armed forces, with 45,000 Ukrainian personnel receiving training since Russia’s invasion.

Private Freya Brown with her military working dog Zac during a training session (Joe Giddens/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Joe Giddens

The dog handler said the Ukrainians have “got a lot” out of their training in the UK and it will help them to “experiment in order to become better”.

Speaking through an interpreter at the barracks, he said: “When different sabotage groups are entering the area and they are mining the roads, for example, we are using dogs there to be able to go through this area safely.

“We have lots of different areas where the combat actions are not so active, but there is still a threat there, so there is a threat to life.”

He said he had wanted to be a dog handler since he was a child and is “proud” to be one during the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian personnel meet military working dog Sophie (Joe Giddens/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Joe Giddens

He said: “I always liked to work with dogs since I was a child and now I really like the idea that I can pass on this knowledge.

“They save tens or hundreds of lives.”

The training course delivered to the Ukrainian personnel includes how to carry out effective patrols, search and rescue operations, and explosive device searches using dogs.

Sergeant Chris Jacques, of the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, said the training also involves using “stress factors” such as replicating battlefield sounds around the dogs.

Sergeant Chris Jacques said the Ukrainians have been ‘engaging’ (Joe Giddens/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Joe Giddens

He said: “It’s important to give something back and also to see, especially in the current climate, how dogs can be used in the environment they (Ukrainians) find themselves in at the minute.

“We see what challenges they’ve had to deal with, we see what factors they’re having to consider which we, at the minute, aren’t having to consider, and they’ve been really engaging.”

Armed forces minister Luke Pollard said: “Military working dogs are an irreplaceable part of our defence forces.

“Their keen instincts, unwavering loyalty and remarkable ability to detect threats makes them vital to protecting our personnel. We owe them and their handlers a deep debt of gratitude for their service.

“Through the training of military working dogs and the dedicated work of all our armed forces personnel, we continue to maintain that the security of Europe and the UK begins in Ukraine.”