Disconnect Between NATO Training and Ukrainian Armed Forces Leaves Soldiers Ill-Prepared for Russian Conflict, Says Report

2023-08-12 21:11 Compiled by United Daily News Zhou Chenyang / real-time report

A British independent media platform and news website “openDemocracy” (openDemocracy) recently published an in-depth report that a brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is fighting on the front line, said that because of the disconnect between NATO and Ukraine’s domestic military training, officers and soldiers were very hostile to Ukraine and Russia. The realities of the battlefield are poorly prepared.

According to Business Insider’s report on the 12th, about 63,000 Ukrainian troops were trained in Western countries, mainly in the United Kingdom and Germany. However, these courses often have limitations. The reason is that the instructors have never fought a war like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nor has it faced an enemy like Russia.

Open Democracy met with senior intelligence sergeant “Dutchman” and other members of the 41st Mechanized Brigade, nearly all of whom were trained in Western countries, in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk. The “Dutchman” said frankly, “I don’t want to say anything to our partners, but they don’t understand our situation and how we fight. This is why the main training and comprehensive training are carried out in China.” .

A British source revealed that all Ukrainian troops trained in the UK have completed a 35-day “boot camp”-style basic soldier training. This kind of course is called a “crash course”, which can provide the most content within the planning time. It is a big advantage for the Ukrainian army to bring home armor and medical supplies worth thousands of pounds.

However, most of the day-to-day tactics and combined arms training used against Russian forces are still taught in Ukraine. The “Dutchman”, who participated in the war as a volunteer as early as the beginning of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2014, said, “The training in the West is very good, the guys have learned experience, especially shooting and (using equipment)… But the most useful training is still in Ukraine conduct”.

According to reports, one limitation of NATO’s training is that Western countries’ militaries have been focusing on fighting insurgencies in the Middle East in recent years. The 41st Mechanized Brigade member said NATO instructors often used examples from conflicts in the Middle East, basically involving clearing houses and identifying insurgents among locals, but those experiences “are not really relevant to us.”

The “Dutchman” pointed out that the instructors in Western countries have experience in urban warfare, but most of the wars in Ukraine are fought on flat ground. They need soldiers to know how to effectively clear trenches, such as “entering trenches, how to effectively throw grenades, and how not to step on them.” Booby traps, understanding what kind of grenade (the Russians) dropped, basically understanding the enemy”.

The Dutchman, who is a veteran, also said that NATO forces strive to crush the enemy with the type of firepower that the Ukrainian army does not have, so instructors in Western countries often plan with “a weaker enemy in mind.” “It would be better if (the instructors) came over here to see what kind of war we were facing, or if we went over there and trained their instructors to train our army,” neither of which worked well, he told reporters. can happen.

The British independent media platform and news website “Open Democracy” recently reported that the 4th Ukrainian Armed Forces is fighting on the front line… Ukraine Russia Russia-Ukraine War NATO

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2023-08-12 13:11:34