Ukrainian troops train on the Salisbury Plains in preparation for the upcoming offensive

IT looks like the Eastern Front in Ukraine, but these soldiers are training on the Salisbury Plains to repel Vladimir Putin’s invaders.

The brave soldiers learn battlefield first aid and infantry tactics, as well as how to clear enemy trenches – where the bloodiest hand-to-hand combat is fought.

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The Australian Armed Forces are supporting the UK-led training, which has seen more than a thousand Ukrainians come through the rigorous simulations, with the latest batch of trainees arriving on Wednesday.

James Cleverly said: “Britain and Australia are best friends and for over a century we have been staunch supporters of freedom and democracy.

“In an increasingly volatile world, we are pursuing a forward-thinking agenda with Australia as a trusted partner and friend.”

That summer, infantrymen and women from the British 5th Rifles were due to go on holiday after a drill in Canada, but all holidays were canceled to allow them to train Ukraine’s raw recruits.

A warrant officer said to his wife, “Sorry, the holidays are off. These men are fighting a war – war is what we do. We have to help them.”

As Cpl Angus Humphrey-Lomberg says, “We teach them to survive and be lethal, making them difficult to kill and efficient and effective killers.”