Inside the Viking-themed NATO camp where Ukrainian troops train for the front

Ukraine's soldiers are training at a camp in Poland that includes a Viking-themed ship at its entrance.

Sinéad Baker Ukrainian troops are training for war at a sprawling NATO camp in eastern Poland.

The Viking-themed base features trench networks, a mock village, and drone labs.

The camp is constantly updated with lessons from the war in Ukraine.

CAMP JOMSBORG, POLAND — Ukrainian soldiers are training to combat Russia's ongoing invasion of their country at a Viking-themed camp purpose-built on NATO soil.

Training at Camp Jomsborg in eastern Poland, roughly two hours from the border with Ukraine, is led by the Norwegians, whose Viking ancestors were famed for their warfighting and conquests throughout Europe.

That heritage is visible across the training center.

When Business Insider visited the sprawling camp this summer, elements of that distinct warrior culture, Viking references and symbols, stood alongside drone labs, vast trench networks, shooting ranges, and mock training villages constructed to resemble the brutal battlefield awaiting Ukrainian troops when they return home.

Urban combat and fields of trenches Entering the training camp requires driving along long, thin tracks among thickets of trees that hint at the scale of the project.

The camp was built rapidly, felling 75,000 trees to create a large clearing in the dense forest, with piles of logs still heaped along the approach.

Building Camp Jomsborg required felling vast amounts of trees.

Arun Rethnam Haug / Forsvaret Norway says that the area is larger than 100 football fields and is the "largest camp the Norwegian Armed Forces has ever built abroad." Construction took just a few months last year, with Maj.

John, the S3 Operations Officer in charge of synchronizing the overall training operation, telling Business Insider that the camp was built "very fast." The training camp recreates many of the combat environments Ukrainian troops are most likely to encounter when they leave, such as trenches, forests, urban areas, and open fields.

Some of the large, cleared fields at Camp Jomsborg are used for training battles where Western forces simulate Russian attacks , often engaging Ukrainian soldiers with Soviet-designed tanks, armored vehicles, and motorcycles while also working with drones.