ReportAs tensions mount in Ukraine, residents of Kiev participate in military training in survival strategies and warfare. One of the instruction groups is the Georgia Legion.
,,Don’t put your finger on the trigger, but constantly on the safety catch. Only when you have to shoot do you unlock and the finger goes down,” shouts the Georgian instructor, somewhere on a swampy football field in the west of Kiev.
Opposite him are about thirty inhabitants of the Ukrainian capital with Kalashnikov dummies in their hands. ,,First the barrel down, then turn, raise the gun again and aim”, the Georgian commander teaches routinely. The ‘recruits’ follow his directions with concentration.
The insignia on the instructor’s sleeve reveals that he is part of the multinational Georgia Legion. That already settled at the beginning of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014 to fight alongside the Ukrainian army against the pro-Russian separatists.
With tensions between Russia and Ukraine mounting for months over the massive military force the Russians are building at the border, residents of Kiev are signing up with self-defense militias. They train them in survival and urban guerrilla warfare.
The ‘standing’ target practice turns into patrolling and advancing as a unit. The ground is soggy and there is still a slab of icy snow on the field. Nevertheless, the volunteers dive forward with full dedication to shoot while lying on the stomach. The war is no different. Moments later, smoke bombs and even practice grenades come into play.
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You have to repeat these kinds of exercises over and over to get into a routine. Nevertheless, accountant Yuri Zinchenko (54) thinks it makes sense. “It gives a certain peace of mind. If something happens, I know what to do and how.”
A standout in the Georgia Legion is the tall instructor Adam (25). As an American serving in Afghanistan, he flew in from the United States two weeks ago. “I followed a call from the Lord,” says the former soldier with a religious feeling. He hides his face behind a scarf and does not want to lose his last name.
Adam is well aware of what has happened in the region in recent years. ,,I have followed the new closely”, he says. “People here have overthrown their government to establish a democracy. That’s great to protect.”
Founder and commander of the Georgia legion Mamuka Mamulashvili (43) hates Russia, everything he says shows. The Georgian knows what it’s like to fight against the Russians. They invaded his own country in 2008 and wiped out the Georgian army within a week.
“I fought along,” explains Mamulashvili, who gained further combat experience during the civil war that ravaged his homeland in the early 1990s. The Russian army also actively intervened in this.
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“We see exactly the same signals from Russia as in 2008. As now, Moscow said to withdraw its troops. A week later they invaded,” the commander growls. “Russia is going to start an open war against Ukraine. It has imperial ambitions and wants to restore the Soviet Union.”
Anxious
,,I’m just as scared as everyone else”, Majja Tavloej (32) says honestly. She is one of four women taking part in the drill. “But I want to be able to protect my family and not panic. This training will give me more confidence.”
Tavloei confesses that she cried in the morning because of reports from eastern Ukraine, where the number of shelling over a weather has increased significantly in recent days. “I stopped reading and chatting about all the news,” she says. “That helps, I still have a bit of my nerves left.”
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