the “Spartan” brigade prepares the counter-offensive

The gesture is precise, the shot assured. In a forest near Kharkiv (Ukraine), Ukrainian soldiers train hard and the program is packed. “The training of soldiers takes place in three stages. Individual training and then training with specialists. The third stage is training within a brigade”, says Artem Zinovyev, head of the combat training section of the “Spartan” brigade. All are brigade volunteers. They are preparing the great counter-offensive promised by Ukraine for weeks.

Essential knowledge sharing

“We also learn how to load and unload weapons and maintain them. Some were just repeating what they knew. For others it was new because the groups are different”, says Maksym, one of the soldiers. Most of these soldiers have fought on the front line before, but some have hardly ever wielded a weapon. So transmission is essential: “We share our knowledge, the more experienced teach the less experienced”. Essential training because everyone here is aware of it, this counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army will be decisive for the rest of the conflict.