On 24 February 2022, the world watched in horror as Russia launched a series of unprovoked attacks on Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin authorised a “specialised military operation” in the south-east of the country.

The invasion was immediately condemned by global leaders, and over a year later UK intelligence has said more than 16,000 civilians may have been killed since the start of the invasion, with a further 8 million displaced. Last month, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest over alleged war crimes, but the fighting continues.

Ukrainian forces are holding on in the eastern city of Bakhmut and cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odesa have been hit by a new wave of Russian missiles over the past few months. The numbers in Ukraine’s military personnel currently stand at just over half a million soldiers, but countless civilians are still taking it upon themselves to train to fight for their country.

In a new documentary for the BBC, Stacey Dooley follows a group of Ukrainians as they arrive in the UK to begin five weeks of intensive army training before their deployment to the frontline.

In Stacey Dooley: Ready For War?, Dooley meets the young civilians putting their lives on the line, including florist and gardener Mykola, who wants to join his family members already on the frontline.

“For me, what makes this documentary fascinating is the fact that these men we are following are civilian individuals with no prior experience in terms of military life or war,” Dooley said of the experience. “It’s literally like your own boyfriend or brother being asked to step up and fight the Russian army on the frontline. It’s an unimaginable task.”

The film sees Dooley following the individuals as they navigate the British Army’s training mission, where recruits “learn to survive and to be lethal”. 

“I’m genuinely curious how you try and prepare a florist to change his entire identity essentially, and equip them to kill the enemy,” she told the BBC. “ That’s such a monumental shift. Plus, I always appreciate spending time with ordinary people, who have found themselves often unwillingly, in extraordinary situations.” 

Elsewhere in the progamme, Dooley meets Pasha, a welder who was living abroad when the invasion began. He fears going into battle will mean never seeing his parents again.

“The overwhelming emotion is despair honestly, because the whole situation just feels so cruel and bleak,” Dooley said. 

However, there is also a clear sense of hope and resolve. 

“You always meet the most remarkable people in these kinds of scenarios and actually there are moments where you are just hanging out with pretty cool people, who you are really in awe of,” said Dooley. 

“I also really feel the Ukrainians truly believe in what they are fighting for. Their right to live in their country. Their culture. Their kids’ freedom. And that allows you to feel hopeful at times.”

Stacey Dooley: Ready For War? is on 12 April, 9pm, BBC Three

Images: BBC