As Ukrainian leaders prepare for a crucial counterattack to repel Russian forces in the war in Ukraine, Vadim, 23, a military recruiter from Kiev, says he wants to be on the front line even if it means losing the life.
“We’re probably going to die,” Vadim said bluntly, while training at a military camp in Yorkshire, England, on Friday. He was among hundreds of Ukrainians who volunteered for an intensive five-week basic training course as what could prove to be one of the bloodiest of the 15-month war is about to take place. to begin. Like other recruits, he asked to be referred to by his first name only.
His gloomy view of his chances of survival, Vadim said, was widely shared by his fellow recruits, all of whom are now halfway through.
“They want to fight, and being hell on the front line is part of that,” Vadim said, his boyish face covered in camouflage paint. “I understand all the risks. It does not matter. ”
He stopped: “It’s important, of course, but it’s still the price to pay.
It could be weeks or even months before Vadim and others in basic training find themselves in actual combat. The timing of the promised Ukrainian counterattack has been kept secret, although in recent days Ukrainian leaders have said they are ready.
Recruiting young Ukrainians now, just in time to join a military operation that could continue indefinitely, draws comparisons to American men and women who enlisted in the military after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
However, there is a key difference: the survivors of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned to a relatively safe homeland. Ukrainians who crawled through muddy trenches and stormed a makeshift hotel during Friday’s drills may have to fight for their country’s territory against neighboring Russia for years to come.
Second Lieutenant Jordan Turton, a British infantry officer who worked with the recruits, said.
“Five weeks ago someone was a translator, someone was a salesman, someone was a barber,” Lt. Turton said. “The feeling is that they want to defend their country, defend their loved ones, defend their friends and family. »
The military exercise in the rolling green and yellow valleys of Yorkshire – similar to the steppes of south-east Ukraine where parts of the offensive are expected to take place – was the latest in a mission that has trained nearly 15,000 recruits over the past year.
It was conducted on Friday by British and Norwegian forces who recently began showing Ukrainian recruits how to disable drones – a nod to their growing importance on the battlefield, especially in the trench warfare that has become a defining feature of combat between Russian and Ukrainian infantry. . .
Lt. Turton, who received his basic training several years ago, said Ukrainian recruits were awfully eager to learn.
“If I’m honest, when it comes to this stage of my training, they’re much better than me,” he said.
Just over six weeks ago, a recruit, who only gave his first name, Ihor, was working as a bricklayer in Lviv. He said his wife and two children were shocked when he announced he was going to volunteer for the war.
“When they calmed down, they understood,” said Ihor, born in 1990, the last year Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Ihor said through an interpreter that although democracy and other Western ideals have always been part of his values, it is only in recent years that he has started to see Russia as a threat .
“The Russian narrative is that we are brother nations,” Ihor said. “But a brother does not come to a brother with a gun in his hands. »
The article featured battle-ready Ukrainian conscripts training in the UK to counterattack on the Alhakika truth first.
2023-06-04 01:43:04
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