🐂 Not all bull runs are created equal. November’s AI picks include 5 stocks up +20% eachUnlock Stocks

Museum tanks and trench systems enhance Ukraine training, EU commander says

Published 11/11/2024, 11:11 AM
Updated 11/11/2024, 11:21 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, Commander of the German units multinational corps and basic military organization of the German army, speaks during a Reuters interview at the von-Hardenberg barracks in Strausberg, Germany February 22, 2023.

By Sabine Siebold

BERLIN (Reuters) - Old Soviet tanks have been borrowed from museums to help train Ukrainian troops on what a commander of the EU training mission for Kyiv says are booby-trap tactics used by Russian soldiers on the battlefield.

Instructors from 17 nations have trained some 18,000 Ukrainian troops in Germany to operate high-spec tanks or precision air defence systems and passed on their skills to snipers, engineers, paramedics and for drone warfare.

But with the Russian and Ukrainian armies blasting thousands of shells at each other every day in grinding combat that echoes the trench warfare of World War One, Ukraine has also sought training in circumstances more representative of the battlefield reality as well as on some older equipment.

So the German military has dug trench systems according to Russian standards and borrowed museum piece Soviet tanks to enhance the on-the-ground experience at some of its training sites.

"These (museum) systems are in use on the Russian side, and they sometimes plant booby traps in abandoned gear," Lieutenant-General Andreas Marlow, head of the EU's Special Training Command near Berlin, told Reuters.

"Providing such vehicles in the training makes it easier to demonstrate where to be cautious to make sure that you don't trigger an explosion if you find them on the battlefield and open the door."

The training command declined to say where the tanks were borrowed from, or how many were in use.

The command is part of a European Union military mission set up in 2022 to train Ukrainian troops to combat Russia's invasion.

On Friday, the mission was extended by another two years as Ukrainian troops face Russian forces advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the war.

Part of the training in Germany now also involves studying Russian trench systems, which Marlow said were typically built to a fixed scheme.

"It is about the shape of the trenches, where to expect shelters and weapons positions," he said.

Instructors are not only looking into the past for inspiration.

Modern simulators have been brought in to train Ukrainian units in combat shooting as well as high-tech dummies that present combat medics with more complex cases.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, Commander of the German units multinational corps and basic military organization of the German army, speaks during a Reuters interview at the von-Hardenberg barracks in Strausberg, Germany February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

At the same time, drones are playing a much bigger role in training now, teaching surveillance techniques as well and raising awareness of the constant danger posed by enemy drones hovering in the sky, Marlow said.

Moscow and Kyiv have both sought to buy and develop new drones, deploy them in innovative ways, and find new ways to destroy them.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.