"NATO troops would freak out on the front line in Ukraine"
The USA has been training Ukrainian soldiers in Germany since the beginning of the year. The military exercises take place at the largest US military training area in Europe, in Grafenwoehr, Bavaria. NATO troops regularly train here on an area of more than 20,000 hectares. According to US Brigadier General Pat Ryder, around 500 Ukrainian soldiers are to be trained at battalion level in Germany every month.
Ukrainian soldier Anton took part in combat training at a military training area in Germany this summer as a scout. We have changed his name to preserve his identity. Anton is deployed as a drone operator. He has a wife and a young daughter waiting for him.
ntv.de: When did the war start for you?
Anton: On February 24, 2022, I woke up, watched the news and went to the draft board. There were already a lot of men in the queue and I wasn't accepted. I went back the next day and told them to either take me or give me a certificate of unfitness. Then they took me to the National Guard. I guarded strategically important facilities for a while, for about three months. One day we were lined up and asked who wanted to join the Azov Brigade. Only 20 out of 150 people, including me, volunteered. We were taken to a checkpoint, but it turned out that we weren't going to be accepted into the Azov Brigade after all. A month and a half of pointless service followed, then I was given two days' leave, and during that time I managed to transfer to the unit I'm in now. Everyone else here is still wondering how I managed to do that, as I hadn't served anywhere before February 24 and had no military experience.
Do you know why you were sent to Germany, were there any selection criteria?
To be honest, there weren't any. The main thing was probably that you hadn't made any serious mistakes as a soldier and hadn't been guilty of anything. This applies to the execution of certain combat tasks, but also to cases where a soldier overdoes it with alcohol. Then he has no chance of progressing and going to training. But almost my entire battalion was there, only a few remained in Ukraine.
What kind of training did you receive here in Germany?
General military training, including reconnaissance.
And how long did the training take?
One and a half months.
Were you able to communicate with your instructors?
In the first week we communicated with the help of our interpreters from Ukraine, in the second week we were able to understand a bit of what the Americans were saying. Or we used Google Translate.
Would you say that the training was effective?
During my training I was in a drone unit, a reconnaissance platoon. Our instructors were United States Army Rangers. The program was specifically geared towards reconnaissance. Many of us already had combat experience, most of us had been fighting for months. But it didn't seem like the training program was for people with combat experience. I didn't actually learn anything special, we just ran twenty to thirty kilometers a day in the main reconnaissance team with a machine gun through the forest. I do that every day in Ukraine too. But the guys who didn't know how to use maps learned how to use them. We were also shown some weapons, a machine gun for example. That was also helpful.
Were you able to leave the training area, go into town and relax?
We weren't allowed to go into town, we spent all our time in the forest. But we had Sundays off. Then everyone could do what they wanted. For example, play volleyball, do sports or just sleep.
Is there anything you liked about the training in Germany?
On the military base itself, there is discipline and clear rules, which we sometimes lack. For example, there is a hierarchy between soldiers, sergeants and officers. A sergeant in a NATO army is like a mother and a father, and the soldiers treat them with great respect. Although they can joke with each other, there are also clear boundaries and rules for everyday things. When we arrived, we were immediately told that we could only smoke in a certain place and only throw garbage in certain garbage cans. Everyone stuck to these rules. But when we returned to Ukraine, all the rules were forgotten.
Are there things that could be improved in the training?
I would have liked the trainers to have more experience. The experience the instructors have there doesn't match the experience we have on the front every day. The Americans have fought a different war to us, they have different equipment. They work first with airplanes, then with tanks, then with artillery, and only then does the infantry come in and do the rest. We don't have that in Ukraine. We have neither airplanes nor tanks to the extent that the Americans have, so our gold is the infantry. Our tactics are basically as follows: First comes the artillery, then the infantry. If NATO troops came to the front line in Ukraine, they would freak out.
There is also a lot of forest in Ukraine - a lot of vegetation that hinders the fulfillment of tasks. When the Americans were at war in Iraq, they could see the enemy ten kilometers away and could shoot at them. So it would make sense for the American military to come to us to see how we fight. By the way, when I took part in the exercises, many Americans said they would like to help us destroy the enemy, but unfortunately they are not allowed to.
Did you go straight back to the front after your training?
Not all of us go to the front immediately after graduation. Some become instructors themselves. My battalion was able to rest for a few weeks and was then sent to the front.
Do you know of any cases where soldiers who came to Germany for training ran away?
Yes, I heard of one such case during our training. One man climbed over the fence and went to the Ukrainian embassy, but they brought him back. I have no idea why, that's what I heard from the other soldiers. And I don't know what happened to him, he wasn't from our battalion.
What about you? Did you want to go back home even though you knew you would return to the war?
Yes. I didn't like Germany that much - maybe because I was in the forest all day, the weather was bad and I was bitten by ticks several times (laughs). I don't know, but this is my home, my country, my family and my friends.
You weren't afraid?
Only suicide bombers are not afraid, I don't have that stupid heroism. There are these people who beat their chests and say they are not afraid of anything and go to the enemy with their bare hands. But practice shows that such people are the first to drop their weapons and run away from their positions. We are given a task, then we sit down with the guys and weigh up all the risks, how to do it properly and when. The most important thing is that the task is set correctly and justified. Then we can get started and do our work calmly.
Is there nothing that throws you off balance?
It's very annoying when you come back from the front and people keep asking the same questions: When will the war be over? Did you kill who? Such questions annoy me and my colleagues. At times like that, I want to say: Come and join us, the mobilization is still going on, then you can answer the questions yourselves.
What motivates you?
The thought that there is no one to protect the family of a soldier who has fallen in the defense of Mariupol, for example. His children and his wife are still there - who will protect them now? Or when I see these atrocities committed by Russians on the internet or hear from acquaintances how Russians carve the letter Z into the backs of our soldiers with a knife. Then I feel hatred for the enemy.
Maryna Bratchyk spoke to Anton
The USA has announced its intent to send military equipment to Ukraine in response to the 'Attack on Ukraine' by Russia. This decision was made following a meeting between President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, with the USA stating that the US military will train Ukrainian troops in the use of the equipment.
Given the current situation in Ukraine, it is highly unlikely that USA troops would be deployed to the front line, as stated by Ukrainian soldier Anton during his interview. However, with the ongoing US military training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany, there is a possibility that US military expertise could be called upon if the situation escalates further.
Source: www.ntv.de
