The Ukrainian army advanced rapidly in its offensive in Kursk in early August. In recent weeks, however, the advance has slowed down. The war is exhausting and Ukraine always needs new people for its defensive fight against Russia.
BBC correspondent Nick Beake has now taken a look around a secret training site in the Chernihiv region (source here). New soldiers are quickly prepared for the battlefield here.
What is astonishing is the age of many new recruits, which is apparently between 40 and 50 yearsAmong them is Rostyslav, who has a wife and two children and is actually a driver. “We have been suffering for so long, we have to do something. We can’t just sit here while they conquer our territory.”
The men have already completed 30 days of basic trainingNow they are supposed to learn to care for their comrades with medical equipment delivered from Great Britain: broken bones, gunshot wounds, severe bleeding. What is now only a dry run could quickly become reality in the coming weeks and months. A soldier who accompanies the BBC correspondent says that the new recruits will not be sent to the front if they do not have sufficient combat skills. “We will not send them to their deaths,” he says.
Maxim, a 30-year-old construction worker, is said to be the youngest of the group. “We have to train, train and train again. The more we train, the more we will learn here. That will help us on the front lines,” he says, adding: “We are ready to defend our country either in Donbass or in Kursk.”
President Zelensky wants much stronger American and European support in air defense. He urgently wants permission to use long-range missiles for deeper attacks on Russia. Rostyslav supports this. “We would like to attack Moscow to end this dirty war. Children and civilians are suffering, everyone is suffering.”
The most important news of the day at a glance:
- At least 41 people were killed in a Russian missile attack in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. “More than 180 people were injured,” Selenskyj said on Telegram. Two ballistic missiles hit the grounds of a university and a neighboring hospital. Read more here.
- A prominent scientist in Russia has been sentenced to 15 years in a penal camp on charges of “treason”. A Moscow court found researcher Alexander Shiplyuk guilty of “betrayal of state secrets,” the Tass news agency reported.
- Despite his international arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin was received with full honours during his state visit to Mongolia. President Uchnaagiin Khürelsüch greeted Putin in front of a guard of honour, a girl presented him with flowers. Mongolia’s decision not to arrest Putin was criticized, particularly in Ukraine. This is a serious blow to the International Court of Justice and the criminal justice system, said the Foreign Ministry spokesman. Read more here.
- According to authorities, several civilians have been killed and injured by Russian air and artillery strikes on Ukrainian territory. In the city of Zaporizhia, after a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, bullets struck on Monday evening, killing two people. One of the victims was an eight-year-old boy, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Kyiv. It is to take place after Rafael Grossi’s visit to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Zelensky said in a video published on social media. Unfortunately, at this stage of the war, Ukraine is unable to regain control of the power plant.
- The UN has expressed concern about the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which has close ties to Russia. The law underlying the ban “raises serious concerns about respect for international human rights standards, particularly freedom of religion,” said the spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani. However, the UN still needs time to examine the law more closely.
