Ukraine’s government introduced national Resistance Centres in every unoccupied region across the war-torn nation last month, preparing civilian citizens with the knowledge and practical skills needed to resist the Russian adversary.
Such skills among the general populace are “integral” to “our defence capability,” commented Iryna Vereshchuk, the deputy head within the office of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
These teachings will also serve as a “driving force behind societal resilience,” she added in an afterthought.
Army Technology has recently learned that part of the mandate of these Resistance Centres is to instil a patriotic conciousness and sustainable motivation among Ukrainian citizens.
This is also required from a military perspective too since morale has taken a hit due to the persistent demand for more manpower and the inability of the service to rotate forces operating for long periods of time on the front lines.
Furthermore, the government intend to open more Centres in areas of the country currently under Russian occupation – namely Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson – after eventual deoccupation and following the implementation of unspecified stabilisation measures.
Will citizens learn combat skills?
The details of the training that will take place in these Resistance Centres are uncertain. However, Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers approved a resolution outlining the requirements governing the Centres which indicate the nature of the training.
Ukraine’s government confirmed that military veterans will lead the Centres and instruct citizens in their training. In addition, the Territorial Defence Forces, of which there is a brigade in every region, will approve a standardised training programme for civilians.
It is telling that military personnel are tasked with directing these Centres. It suggests that the knowledge and practical skills necessary to resist the Russian occupiers will cover direct combat.
Likewise, the centres that the government may establish in the occupied regions, when they are regained, will help to prevent any future Russian invasion by cultivating a martial mentality, as well as a nationalist one, among the civilian population.
Latest in Ukraine
After claims that Ukraine had lost control of the Russian Kursk region at the end of April, there are now reports saying that a fresh incursion into the same area is underway.
The Institute for the Study of War suggests that that Ukrainian forces conducted a series of limited attacks across the border near Tetkino, Popova-Lezhachi, and Novyi Put in the Kursk region on 4 and 5 May.
It is believed that Ukraine’s forces are attempting to isolate Russian units near Tetkino and throughout Glushkovsky Raion.
Meanwhile, inside Ukraine, along the front lines, Russian forces advanced near Vovchansk, Siversk, Toretsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.
