By KYIV. Dec 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The first rotation of Ukrainian military personnel who completed their training took place at the Libava training ground in Olomouc region (the Czech Republic) on Thursday, the Czech edition iDnes reports.
"The Czech Republic supports you. You are heroes for Czech soldiers and citizens of the Czech Republic," Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová said during a meeting with Ukrainian soldiers.
Four more training tours are to be held by the end of next year. The first one is scheduled for the end of January.
The government and parliament approved the training of the Ukrainian military in autumn. The goal is to train up to 4,000 Ukrainians in the Czech Republic by the end of next year, mostly from mechanized units. More than 200 Czech soldiers also take part in the drills, who receive from the Ukrainians their experience in real combat.
According to the report, the military was trained in both basic skills, including shooting from a machine gun or driving an infantry fighting vehicle, and command skills. The age of Ukrainian soldiers varies greatly, as does their combat experience: some first learned how to handle an assault rifle in the Czech Republic, others have already gone through the fighting at the front. "This is also an advantage for our army, the Ukrainians share their vast experience with us," Černochová said.
According to the commander of the land forces of the Czech army, Roman Náhončík, the Ukrainian military spent about three weeks in Libava. A unit as large as a mechanized battalion, i.e. several hundred people, passed shooting and tactical training, the program also included the transfer of experience in planning an attack, defense or movement. He also said that the Czech and Ukrainian military exchange experience with each other.
"They show each other how they do it, how we do it, and then everyone chooses something of their own and uses it in their actions," Náhončík said, noting the motivation and enthusiasm of Ukrainians.
