SAM SKOVE
On the monitor, a row of drone feeds piped in live footage from a war zone: Russia’s Kursk province, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting since August.
Sitting in front of the monitor, an Ukrainian officer kept an eye on the feed. Just behind him, officers clustered around an enormous paper map, on which Ukrainian and Russian forces sprawled in long sinuous lines.
The drone stream was real. The battle on the map wasn’t. The officer watching the drone feed had no soldiers to control, nor did the busy officers bustling behind him and manning computers.
The eager Ukrainian brigade staff were instead focused on a training exercise, part of a 21-day crash course run in Poland as part of the EU mission for training Ukraine’s army. The drone streams were being incorporated into the fictional exercise—although Ukrainian officers wouldn’t say how, citing operational security.
As the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds into its third year, Ukraine is in desperate need of experienced troops. Western military training, like that seen in Poland, could be the answer. Western officers say their high-quality training, which emphasizes initiative, is a key advantage that their armies have over Russia.
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