(Boutcha) Dozens of Ukrainian civilians trained by the army trained with the military on Friday in Boutcha, in a fortified area created by Russian forces during the occupation of this district which has become one of the symbols of massacres attributed to the troops Russians.
Posted at 1:45 p.m.
In khaki uniforms, rifles in hand and hooded faces, these volunteers who joined the ranks of the army to defend the country against the invasion of Moscow took part in exercises in a forest invaded by the Russian army at the beginning of war, dotted with mounds of earth, shelters and large holes.
“The Russians dug these holes, 7,000 big holes for tanks, armored vehicles, tank trucks, that’s a lot, and they were preparing to stay here for a long time,” said Valentyn Kalashnyk, head of the forces’ press center. of territorial defense of the Ukrainian army.
Russian forces had invaded Boutcha, in the northwestern suburbs of Kyiv, on February 27, three days after the start of the offensive, and withdrew from it in early April, as part of a redeployment of the army in the east of the country where fighting continues.
The exercises prepared by the territorial defense units of Boutcha should enable the Ukrainians to be better prepared in the event of a new offensive, explains Sergeant Ticha (not his real name).
“If the orcs [surnom donné aux soldats russes en Ukraine, NDLR] come back, God forbid, we will be able to face them, not like the first time. We weren’t prepared for this,” he said as volunteers bustled about, rifles in hand.
Photo SERGEI SUPINSKY, Agence France-Presse
“The Russians dug these holes, 7,000 big holes for tanks, armored vehicles, tankers, that’s a lot, and they were preparing to stay here for a long time,” said the head of the defense forces press center territory of the Ukrainian army.
“Most of those who are there are not military, they are simply civilians who want to defend the country. 50% of them have never had a gun in their hands until today,” he says.
Executives from the Ukrainian army follow the training sessions closely: “We teach them what we know, plus what we learn from the instructors sent by NATO,” adds Sergeant Ticha.
Many volunteers who join the Ukrainian army since the invasion of Russia are partly trained in this forest.
“Exercises here, there are permanently”, specifies Mr. Kalashnyk. And “there are a lot of volunteers, there are always queues at military registration offices to join the army,” he concludes.