Ukrainian soldiers on training in Germany say that they have “swapped Ladas for Mercedes” as they express their delight at finally getting the chance to use German-built tanks.
On an army base on a rain-swept moor in northern Germany, Ukrainian soldiers have been given five weeks to master the complexities of the Leopard 2 battle tank before they head back to the front in their war-torn country.
With many of the soldiers barely versed in tank battle, the training is intense.
The work day starts at 7am and lasts for twelve hours. Sunday is the only rest day, but even here the Ukrainians are eager to get onto the training field, one German soldier said.
The Telegraph was one of a few media outlets that were granted access to the training facilities in the town of Munster earlier this week to meet some of the soldiers and the German squaddies who are training them.
The visit took place under tight security conditions, with the press banned from taking any pictures around the facility.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian soldiers who agreed to be interviewed pulled scarves up over their noses and wore tinted glasses.
Any questions about the specifics of the training programme, such as how many soldiers were involved and when it would finish, were rebuffed by German officials with a curt “no comment”.
Anatoli, a stockily built tank commander in his late fifties, said that his experience with Germany’s Leopard tanks had been a revelation.
“Up until now we have been fighting with Ladas, now we’re finally getting a modern Mercedes,” he said Anatoli.
Vitali, a paratrooper who is being trained on the lighter Marder tank, said confidently that: “I don’t want to compare (it to a Soviet tank). You will soon see. We’ll show everything in battle.”
The men are two of several hundred soldiers who were taken to Germany under tight secrecy earlier this month for training on the weapons systems.
After months of delay, Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, agreed in January to supply Kyiv with 40 Marder tanks and 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks, as well as carrying out the necessary training of soldiers at German bases.
Vitali would say only that he was previously a state official before joining the army after the outbreak of the war last year.
The German tanks are “a drop in the ocean... but they will bring our victory nearer,” he said.
German soldiers charged with bringing their Ukrianians colleagues up to speed on the vehicles in record time say they have been impressed by how quickly they’ve taken on new skills.
“They are hungry for knowledge. You can see that they really want to absorb everything like dry sponges,” one trainer said.