Ukraine clearly needs as much top-tier western military equipment as possible.
However, we can’t forget one thing: they also need top-tier training to mach.
And it does seem, thanks to the power of social media, that is indeed occurring.
Ukraine Is Getting the Weapons it Needs to Fight Russia
Video footage shared on the Ukrainian Telegram channel Karymat back in March and later re-uploaded to Twitter offers a brief look into the training that Ukrainian soldiers are receiving.
In the clip, soldiers are seen inside the Stryker, an eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle.
Soldiers can also be seen firing guns and using technological equipment inside the vehicle.
Additional footage shared by the channel shows Ukrainian soldiers undergoing training on American Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. In the clip, recorded from a cell phone, one soldier can be seen dancing on top of the vehicle.
Another video shows a Ukrainian soldier learning how to use American portable anti-aircraft systems.
In the clip, the soldier can be seen wearing the weapon over his shoulder while wearing a backpack and a virtual reality headset.
The view from the headset can be seen on a series of monitors on a desk in the corner, with other Ukrainian soldiers watching as he learns to operate the weapon virtually.
“In such conditions, the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trained and trained in the operation of portable anti-aircraft missile systems,” the original Telegram post reads.
Putin Should Be Angry
The footage comes after the Pentagon confirmed in January that Ukrainian troops would be trained on U.S. soil to use the Patriot air defense battery promised to Ukraine.
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed at the time that training would begin at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and as many as 100 Ukrainian soldiers would be flown to the United States.
Training not only includes using the Patriot system and other weapons and vehicles sent to Ukraine but also involves classroom work and simulations.
“The training will be tailored to provide relevant tactics, techniques and procedures based on the battlefield conditions in Ukraine to enable them to employ that to maximum effect once they are back in Ukraine,” Ryder told the press.
The training is essential if Ukrainian forces are to successfully use U.S.-supplied advanced weapons and air defense systems.
In January, a $2.5 billion military aid package promised Ukraine 100 Stryker armored vehicles as part of an effort to ensure that Ukrainian forces can effectively repel Russian ground forces.
The package also gave Ukraine more than 50 Bradley armored vehicles.
While the package was welcomed by Kyiv, it did not contain the advanced tanks that President Zelenskyy was requesting at the time.
The same month, however, the British government promised to send Ukraine advanced battle tanks. Eventually, Washington did make a promise to send M1 Abrams tanks.
????????Ukrainian military trains in ????????Europe on ????????American Stryker ICV armored personnel carriers #SlavaUkraïni pic.twitter.com/JHp6aoPLDq
— Feher_Junior (@Feher_Junior) March 12, 2023
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
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