One-hundred-and-twenty Defence Force staff have arrived back in New Zealand from training hundreds of Ukrainians for war.
The group has been working in the United Kingdom since September, teaching Ukrainian civilians how to fight Russian forces.
When they arrived back in New Zealand, they were greeted with hugs from loved ones.
The joyous scenes were in stark contrast to the bloody battlefield they'd been preparing Ukrainians for.
The Defence Force staff have been training nearly 700 Ukrainian civilians in the UK, including farmers and anaesthetists.
"Some builders, some blue-collar workers, all the way through to mechanical engineers. A very diverse group of people, but very similar to New Zealanders in every sense of it," Major Tom Kelly said.
They had just 35 days to turn them into frontline soldiers.
"Everything from shooting, moving, communicating, through to laws of conflict, tactical casualty treatment, and tactics within a rural and urban environment," Major Josh Sullivan said.
Maj Kelly said by the end of their time there, they were "brothers in arms".
"Life-long friendships, you might say, were formed there. It was emotional for all when we farewelled them," he said.
Because while they could come home, their new Ukrainian comrades went to war.
New Zealand will continue helping Ukraine by training more of its civilians. The Government is sending a group of 66 military staff back to the UK in January.
"We're doing what the Government asked us to do and we're doing a very good job at it," Land Component Commander Colonel Duncan Roy said.
"We've been able to connect and really provide a tangible difference to these soldiers that are going back to Ukraine to defend their country."
