In Photos: Faced With Possible Russian Invasion, Ukrainian Civilians Seek Combat Training
As Western governments continue to sound the alarm over the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Ukrainians have sought to join the Territorial Defense Forces, the country’s volunteer military reserve.
In January, new volunteers flocked to the training grounds, where they received basic combat training and learned survival tactics for hostile environments.
Here’s a look at the training in action:
In January, new volunteers flocked to the training grounds, where they received basic combat training and learned survival tactics for hostile environments.
Here’s a look at the training in action:
A military instructor teaches civilians holding wooden replicas of Kalashnikov rifles during a training session at an abandoned factory in Kyiv on Jan. 30.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
As fears grow of a potential invasion by Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border, civilians were trained in battle tactics and paramedic skills.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
In the years since war broke out with pro-Moscow separatists in 2014, Ukraine's military has had to fight in urban terrain and rely on small arms and guerrilla tactics.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
The training is conducted by instructors with combat experience as part of the "Total Resistance" initiative.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
Civil defense forces primarily rely on their own resources and ability to equip and train themselves. The government has said it will provide them weapons only if an actual invasion starts.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP
Ukrainian civilians learn to build a shelter out of the deep snow as part of a crash course in survival techniques in a forest on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Jan. 30.
Genya Savilov / AFP
For the participants, the two day training on how to make fires and get by in sub-zero temperatures has taken on a new urgency.
Genya Savilov / AFP
The Ukrainian government aims to have at least 135,000 reserve forces trained in the basics of combat and surviving in the wild.
Genya Savilov / AFP
