At an unassuming military base in rural Poland, Canadian soldiers lead a classroom of Ukrainian recruits through modern fighting techniques.
Just weeks ago, these Ukrainian men worked in shops, restaurants and wheat fields. Now, they are learning how to repin enemy grenades under the whine of Russian suicide drones — a skill that may keep them alive in the not-so-distant future.
This little-known Canadian training operation, called Operation Unifier, is now in its tenth year. Over the past decade, its mission has evolved from a modest training exercise into an important contribution to Ukraine’s fight for survival as an independent nation.
“[Unifier tells Ukraine], ‘We are going to be there for you, and we are going to adapt to the situation and support you so you can survive … and win the war,” Lt.-Col. Marie-Josée Desroches, commander of Operation Unifier, told Canadian Affairs in an interview.
A decade of engagement
Operation Unifier began as a bilateral training mission between Canada and Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Canada initially deployed about 200 Canadian Armed Forces members to training sites in Ukraine itself. There, the CAF provided “tactical-level training” to Ukrainian security forces on combined arms, military engineering, military policing, medical support and logistics.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Operation Unifier paused its in-person training and relocated to Poland. By August 2022, it had resumed training Ukrainians, both in Poland and Latvia, with its work this time shaped by the realities of active war.
“[Unifier] has been evolving a lot,” said Desroches, who has overseen the Canadian mission in Poland since January.
Today, roughly 300 CAF troops are stationed in Poland. Many of the Ukrainian men who arrive for training come with only a few short weeks of basic military instruction. The CAF instructors help rapidly prepare them for specialized combat roles — condensing months or even years of expertise into an intensive, six-week course.
“Between 2015 and 2022, [Operation Unifier] was mostly individual training, on both basic and specialized skills, in concert with our Allies,” a CAF spokesperson told Canadian Affairs in a written response.
“After 2022, Canada’s military contributions, including training, equipment, and transport, have been integral in Ukraine’s counter offensive to-date,” the spokesperson said.
“The CAF will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to defend its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”
An international effort
Canada is not the only country training Ukrainians — but it has been a key contributor.
In the war’s first year, more than 30 countries including Canada helped train about 116,000 Ukrainians at training sites located outside of Ukraine. Canada, for its part, has trained approximately 44,000 Ukrainians since 2015. The entire Ukrainian military currently consists of about 880,000 troops.
Canadian Affairs visited one of Unifier’s combat engineering training sites in Poland in July, and watched training exercises, including anti-tank mine disarming and tactical medical extractions.
Desroches says Unifier is shaped by ongoing feedback from the Ukrainian military that is provided at regular conferences with other NATO allies.
“ The Armed Forces of Ukraine talk about what they need, where they want to go, what’s working, and what’s not working so the international community can readjust and provide what they need,” said Desroches.
Capt. Christopher Danis, who oversees the combat engineering element of Unifier, says Canada’s training contribution enables Ukraine’s military leadership to focus on fighting the war.
“They want more [training], and it frees them because while we instruct the soldier, then they can fight the war. They can be there. The leaders can be on the ground to lead the troops while somebody else is… helping them get more soldiers ready. So it’s something that’s very much appreciated.”
Danis, who sat down for an interview after providing Canadian Affairs with a tour of a mock trench system, says Canada has been well assisted by Unifier’s host nation, Poland. The Polish military provides training facilities, logistical support and some instructors.
“That trust that we have built with Poland helps us do better training. We ask them for improvements that we would like to see in the training area, and it’s always supported,” he said, referring to small projects on the base that make the training environment mimic the realities of war.
Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada, says Canada is well positioned to work with Poland.
”For instance, Turks and the Greeks aren’t going to be running something together … whereas everybody always seems to be able to agree, ‘We can work with the Canadians.’
“That’s part of the reason why Canada is always a popular backfill… and because we are so interoperable with the United States, it’s very easy for Canada to pick up anything that the United States drops,” he added, referencing the repositioning of U.S. military equipment and personnel from Jasionka, Poland, to other sites in the country.
In an interview with Canadian Affairs in June, Poland’s Ambassador to Canada Witold Dzielski made a similar point.
“ Politicians discuss and come up with ideas to promote certain notions [regarding defence],” he said.
“But then there needs to be boots on the ground — and people working together, doing their best in order to understand each other and to connect their strategies and tactics.”
A Canadian combat engineer instructs Ukrainian soldiers on handling anti-tank mines during Operation Unifier, Poland, July 8, 2025. | CAF 
A Canadian combat engineer instructs Ukrainian soldiers on handling anti-tank mines during Operation Unifier, Poland, July 8, 2025. | CAF A Canadian combat engineer instructs Ukrainian soldiers on handling anti-tank mines during Operation Unifier, Poland, July 8, 2025. | CAF A Canadian combat engineer instructs Ukrainian soldiers on handling anti-tank mines during Operation Unifier, Poland, July 8, 2025. | CAF
‘Different roles, different frameworks’
While Operation Unifier is not a NATO operation, it aligns with NATO initiatives focused on deterring Russian aggression.
Canada leads the Latvia battlegroup of NATO’s Operation Reassurance. With 2,000 CAF troops stationed in the country, it constitutes Canada’s largest current foreign military engagement.
There are strategic similarities between Unifier and Operation Reassurance, Desroches says. But Unifier is about directly contributing to the Ukrainian war effort, whereas Reassurance is about establishing a security bulwark against further Russian expansion.
“I think they’re both important, but they both have different roles and different frameworks,” she said.
Experts say Operation Unifier demonstrates Canada’s commitment to international security, despite a track record of underspending on defence.
“Unifier [is] something … tangible that we [are] actually doing to help … on deterrence,” said geopolitical analyst Jonathan Berkshire Miller. The operation does not offset criticisms of Canada’s historically low defence spending levels, he says, but it does highlight “some of the things that we’re actually doing versus just counting the numbers.”
Leuprecht agrees.
“ Canada might not be conspicuous by its presence, but it would certainly be conspicuous by its absence,” he said. “When we’re already underspending on GDP, on capital investments, this is at least a success story that Canada can point to.”
Unifier trainers told Canadian Affairs it is meaningful to see the impact of their work on the ground.
“Hearing feedback later on through the linguists who keep in touch with some of the [Ukrainian trainees], who say, ‘Today, this training saved my life,’” said Danis. “It really feels good to know that we’ve made a difference concretely on the battlefield.”
These troops deserve an immediate 20% pay raise.
Somehow left out the part how they also ended up training neo-Nazis extremists in the Azov battalion. Surely a valuable expenditure of our tax dollars… Oh well, as long as they are against Russia huh?
Money laundromat