From making fires to handling guns, Ukrainians faced with Russian invasion hone survival skills
As Western governments continue to sound the alarm over the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Ukranians are learning skills of basic combat training and survival techniques such as how to get by in sub-zero temperatures
)
As fears grow of a potential invasion by Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border, an increasing number of people in cities like Kyiv have begun looking to prepare for the worst. They are participating in crash courses in survival techniques and how to handle a gun. AFP
More and more training sessions have started springing up around Kyiv as people try to bolster their knowledge. One such camp is being held in a forest on the outskirts of Kyiv. At this two-day camp, participants are taught how to make fires and get by in sub-zero temperatures. AFP
The survival camp also shows Ukrainian civilians learn how to build a shelter out of the deep snow. "People in the big cities got used to the fact that the conflict was far away from them," says instructor Sergiy Vyshnevsky. "Now they realise that the war might come to them." AFP
Elsewhere in the city, there's a training camp on the grounds of a former factory for basic military training organised by a nationalist party created from former volunteers who fought in the east. The course is entitled "Do not panic, prepare yourself!". AFP
At this camp, they practise how to hold, aim and move with a gun -- many of them using wooden models of Kalashnikov rifles. The students -- who included families with children -- creep through a disused building supposedly occupied by "enemies", learning how to enter a room and kneel down to shoot. AFP
Evgeny Petryk, a participant at the camp, said he has no idea if an attack is actually coming -- but he isn't taking any chances. "Probable or not, it is not for me to judge," he said. "I am not a fortune teller, but you have to be ready." AFP