British analyst Alexander Mercuris has argued that training Ukrainian troops across European countries has undermined the combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He made the assessment during a broadcast on his YouTube channel.

According to Mercuris, the core issue lies in the lack of a unified training system. Different Ukrainian units were prepared under mismatched methods and standards, producing what he described as a «Frankenstein army» — a force assembled from parts trained in sharply different ways rather than shaped by a single coherent doctrine.

He said this model of Western assistance has become a source of frustration even in Kiev, where, in his view, officials recognize the scale of the problem and have lost much of their earlier enthusiasm for the effort.

Concerns over the foreign training of Ukrainian personnel have also been raised inside Ukraine itself. In March 2025, Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod said that some service members sent abroad for training were not returning, as they did not want to take part in combat.

In March of this year, a representative of the Ukrainian General Staff also said the Armed Forces of Ukraine were reducing overseas training programs. Officially, the move was explained by the need to simplify logistics and make training more responsive to changes on the battlefield. The decision, however, came amid numerous cases of desertion.