Norwegian soldiers say they're training Ukrainian soldiers with a 'Viking mentality' built for harsh conditions

Norwegian soldiers are bringing their ain "Viking mentality" and warrior civilization to the training of Ukrainian troops for warfare pinch Russia.

Norway is starring Operation Legio, a caller world effort to support, train, and equip Ukrainian soldiers for the fight. Battlefield training combines Ukrainian combat experience pinch NATO warfighting practices.

The training, supported by 11 nations, is chiefly conducted by unit from the Telemark Battalion, an elite mechanized infantry battalion of the Norwegian Army that has made aspects of Viking civilization cardinal to its identity.

Maj. John, the S3 Operations Officer successful complaint of synchronizing the wide training operation, told Business Insider that Norway's Telemark Battalion puts awesome accent connected building skills, but besides processing a "warrior mentality" that allows them to conflict and "thrive successful harsh conditions."

"We tie that warrior mentality from our Viking heritage," he said, "and the Viking civilization is very important for us." He asked to only beryllium identified by his first sanction for information reasons.

The elite battalion, which has deployed connected combat missions successful places for illustration the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq, is represented by the emblem of a Viking ship, and the unit's Viking-inspired conflict outcry is: "To Valhalla!" In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the awesome hallway successful Asgard for brave warriors slain successful battle.

John said the battalion's mindset is "not for illustration over-aggressive, over-eager, doing stupid stuff. We return the champion parts of that Viking mentality and past use it to the ethical and civilized standards that are required of our soldiers."

John said the training emphasizes some battlefield skills and the "warrior mentality" and subject needed to "thrive successful harsh conditions."

"It's a operation betwixt skills and mentality," he said.

The Ukrainians arriving for training are not needfully novices erstwhile it comes to enduring harsh conditions. Many of them travel from a subject shaped by years of high-intensity warfare, and Norwegian leaders many times described the training arsenic an speech successful which Ukraine's combat acquisition shapes what its NATO partners teach.

The measurement the Norwegians reenforce their approach, John said, is "through exposing them to harsh training." The training, conducted astatine a campy successful southeastern Poland, is designed to beryllium tough, pinch daytime and nighttime operations and scenarios intended to replicate battlefield conditions arsenic intimately arsenic possible.

Brigadier Atle Molde, commandant of Task Force Legio, doesn't presently service successful the Telemark battalion, but he said of this portion that "they person their culture, and of course, a warrior mentality is simply a bully point arsenic agelong arsenic it drives portion cohesion and fighting for thing common."

Even the training camp, a purpose-built training tract successful Poland, astir 2 hours from Ukraine's border, reflects that Viking identity.

Camp Jomsborg was established successful 2025, and it began its 5th 51-day rotation of Ukrainian soldiers successful precocious May. Norway acts arsenic the model nation, providing the main building and activity for the different participating countries.

"It's each astir the Ukrainian worker and expanding his lethality and survivability wrong this programme earlier he leaves for front-line war," said John. The main goal, he said, is supporting Ukraine truthful it tin support defending itself and triumph the warfare connected its ain aliases discuss a bid statement connected its ain terms.

The sanction Camp Jomsborg comes from the legendary Viking wall Jomsborg. Molde said that what characterized the Jomsvikings, a legendary warrior brotherhood based on the Baltic Sea, "was that they were very disciplined and master warriors. So that's wherever the sanction comes from."

That history is visible passim the camp, which Business Insider visited. Viking-inspired signs and a ample Viking vessel decorate the huge, purpose-built tract wherever soldiers train, eat, and sleep. There are different references to Norwegian culture, too, pinch its streets named aft figures for illustration Thor, the Norse deity of thunder.

Molde said that "unit cohesion is important," and that the Telemark Battalion was seeking to return what it sees arsenic affirmative successful its ain civilization and "try to springiness that complete to the Ukrainians arsenic well. So agelong arsenic it has a affirmative effect, it's a bully thing."

Plus, he said, "for 1 logic aliases another, the full Viking mythology, the Ukrainians for illustration that."

Ukraine's subject and civilian organization person shown bonzer resilience nether years of sustained Russian attacks against not conscionable subject targets, but civilian ones arsenic well. Western leaders person many times said that Moscow is seeking to break Ukraine's tone and willingness to defy and unit it into submission. Instead, Ukraine has continued fighting and adapting, processing battlefield innovations and tactics that its Western partners progressively want to study and learn from.

Ukraine's subject and organization are enduring conditions that nary Western state has knowledgeable successful decades, including heavy attrition, changeless attacks, and tremendous losses.

Ukraine's battlefield acquisition and expertise are cardinal to the Legio training operation. "We person defined this arsenic a Ukrainian training center," John said.

Ukraine outlines what it needs and wants to learn, and its partners building the training astir those requirements, pinch Ukrainian instructors besides helping to lead. The programme was built astir Ukrainian requests and expertise and is regularly updated based connected Ukrainian feedback.

Defining it that measurement intends Ukraine tin "hold america accountable for value and delivering that realistic training," John said. That cooperation, he said, "is what has made this an effective training mission."

Many of the Ukrainians astatine Camp Jomsborg person real-world lessons from sadistic warfare that their instructors lack, while Western trainers person decades of organization acquisition and NATO practices to connection successful return. Molde said it's a lawsuit of everyone moving together to harvester those strengths and study from 1 another.

Jørgen, a Norwegian coach astatine the camp, told Business Insider that training the Ukrainians isn't difficult. "I deliberation it's rather unthinkable really eager to study they are successful general," he said. "It benignant of confirms really bully the guys are."