NATO WAR
Ukrainian soldiers training on German tanks say they’ve ‘swapped Ladas for Mercedes’Jorg Luyken
The Telegraph
Wed, February 22, 2023
Bundeswehr
Ukrainian soldiers on training in Germany say that they have “swapped Ladas for Mercedes” as they express their delight at finally getting the chance to use German-built tanks.
On an army base on a rain-swept moor in northern Germany, Ukrainian soldiers have been given five weeks to master the complexities of the Leopard 2 battle tank before they head back to the front in their war-torn country.
With many of the soldiers barely versed in tank battle, the training is intense.
The work day starts at 7am and lasts for 12 hours. Sunday is the only rest day, but even here the Ukrainians are eager to get on to the training field, one German soldier said.
The Telegraph was one of a few media outlets granted access to the training facilities in the town of Munster earlier this week to meet some of the soldiers and the German squaddies training them.
The visit took place under tight security conditions, with the press banned from taking any pictures around the facility.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian soldiers who agreed to be interviewed pulled scarves up over their noses and wore tinted glasses.
Any questions about the specifics of the training programme, such as how many soldiers were involved and when it would finish, were rebuffed by German officials with a curt “no comment”.
Anatoli, a stockily built tank commander in his late fifties, said that his experience with Germany’s Leopard tanks had been a revelation.
“Up until now we have been fighting with Ladas, now we’re finally getting a modern Mercedes,” he said.
Vitali, a paratrooper who is being trained on the lighter Marder tank, said confidently that: “I don’t want to compare (it to a Soviet tank). You will soon see. We’ll show everything in battle.”
The men are two of several hundred soldiers taken to Germany under tight secrecy earlier this month for training on the weapons systems.
After months of delay, Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, agreed in January to supply Kyiv with 40 Marder tanks and 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks, as well as carry out the necessary training of soldiers at German bases.
Vitali would say only that he was previously a state official before joining the army after the outbreak of the war last year.
The German tanks are “a drop in the ocean... but they will bring our victory nearer,” he said.
German soldiers charged with bringing their Ukrainian colleagues up to speed on the vehicles in record time say they have been impressed by how quickly they’ve taken on new skills.
“They are hungry for knowledge. You can see that they really want to absorb everything like dry sponges,” one trainer said.
Vladimir Klitschko -
But the challenges involved in making sure they are battle ready by the end of March are immense.
Around 80 per cent of the recruits in Germany for training only have the most basic of combat experience, one German trainer said.
With the pressure on, they were “working round the clock”, he conceded.
The lack of a common language means that “a lot of the time we are using our hands and feet to communicate”, another instructor said.
On the same day that the press were granted access, Boris Pistorius, the German defence minister, also paid an official visit to the training facilities.
Along with him was a surprise guest - Ukraine’s former champion boxer Vladimir Klitschko.
Mr Klitschko told The Telegraph on the sidelines of the event that he believed that Germany had finally understood the importance of arming his country.
“I understand that it is part of the German mentality that weapons are something they don’t really want to talk about,” he said. “But eventually, Germany has understood that the war is going to escalate if it is not stopped with weapons.
“We are not fighting with fists, we are fighting with weapons,” added the former world heavyweight title holder.
Germany has promised to deliver the tanks by the end of March.
The Marder infantry fighting vehicles are part of a wider Western deployment that will include at least 60 Bradley Fighting Vehicles from the US. These arrived at Bremen harbour in northern Germany earlier this month and are also now headed for the warzone.
Ukrainian military personnel stand infront of a Marder infantry fighting vehicles at the Panzertruppenschule (Tank School) in Munster
Berlin is still engaged in furious diplomacy to build an alliance of countries that will contribute to two battalions of Leopard tanks.
Loud concerns have been raised that Mr Scholz’s slow decision on supplying battle tanks might mean that they arrive too late to fend off a Russian offensive expected in the coming weeks.
But the Ukrainian soldiers training in Munster expressed confidence that their comrades back home would hold the line.
“We are sure that our comrades can hold back the attacker until we arrive,” said Vitali.
He couldn't say whether he will have time to see his family once the training in Germany is over, but added, “we will be back on the front soon”.
Wed, February 22, 2023
Bundeswehr
Ukrainian soldiers on training in Germany say that they have “swapped Ladas for Mercedes” as they express their delight at finally getting the chance to use German-built tanks.
On an army base on a rain-swept moor in northern Germany, Ukrainian soldiers have been given five weeks to master the complexities of the Leopard 2 battle tank before they head back to the front in their war-torn country.
With many of the soldiers barely versed in tank battle, the training is intense.
The work day starts at 7am and lasts for 12 hours. Sunday is the only rest day, but even here the Ukrainians are eager to get on to the training field, one German soldier said.
The Telegraph was one of a few media outlets granted access to the training facilities in the town of Munster earlier this week to meet some of the soldiers and the German squaddies training them.
The visit took place under tight security conditions, with the press banned from taking any pictures around the facility.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian soldiers who agreed to be interviewed pulled scarves up over their noses and wore tinted glasses.
Any questions about the specifics of the training programme, such as how many soldiers were involved and when it would finish, were rebuffed by German officials with a curt “no comment”.
Anatoli, a stockily built tank commander in his late fifties, said that his experience with Germany’s Leopard tanks had been a revelation.
“Up until now we have been fighting with Ladas, now we’re finally getting a modern Mercedes,” he said.
Vitali, a paratrooper who is being trained on the lighter Marder tank, said confidently that: “I don’t want to compare (it to a Soviet tank). You will soon see. We’ll show everything in battle.”
The men are two of several hundred soldiers taken to Germany under tight secrecy earlier this month for training on the weapons systems.
After months of delay, Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, agreed in January to supply Kyiv with 40 Marder tanks and 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks, as well as carry out the necessary training of soldiers at German bases.
Vitali would say only that he was previously a state official before joining the army after the outbreak of the war last year.
The German tanks are “a drop in the ocean... but they will bring our victory nearer,” he said.
German soldiers charged with bringing their Ukrainian colleagues up to speed on the vehicles in record time say they have been impressed by how quickly they’ve taken on new skills.
“They are hungry for knowledge. You can see that they really want to absorb everything like dry sponges,” one trainer said.
Vladimir Klitschko -
But the challenges involved in making sure they are battle ready by the end of March are immense.
Around 80 per cent of the recruits in Germany for training only have the most basic of combat experience, one German trainer said.
With the pressure on, they were “working round the clock”, he conceded.
The lack of a common language means that “a lot of the time we are using our hands and feet to communicate”, another instructor said.
On the same day that the press were granted access, Boris Pistorius, the German defence minister, also paid an official visit to the training facilities.
Along with him was a surprise guest - Ukraine’s former champion boxer Vladimir Klitschko.
Mr Klitschko told The Telegraph on the sidelines of the event that he believed that Germany had finally understood the importance of arming his country.
“I understand that it is part of the German mentality that weapons are something they don’t really want to talk about,” he said. “But eventually, Germany has understood that the war is going to escalate if it is not stopped with weapons.
“We are not fighting with fists, we are fighting with weapons,” added the former world heavyweight title holder.
Germany has promised to deliver the tanks by the end of March.
The Marder infantry fighting vehicles are part of a wider Western deployment that will include at least 60 Bradley Fighting Vehicles from the US. These arrived at Bremen harbour in northern Germany earlier this month and are also now headed for the warzone.
Ukrainian military personnel stand infront of a Marder infantry fighting vehicles at the Panzertruppenschule (Tank School) in Munster
Berlin is still engaged in furious diplomacy to build an alliance of countries that will contribute to two battalions of Leopard tanks.
Loud concerns have been raised that Mr Scholz’s slow decision on supplying battle tanks might mean that they arrive too late to fend off a Russian offensive expected in the coming weeks.
But the Ukrainian soldiers training in Munster expressed confidence that their comrades back home would hold the line.
“We are sure that our comrades can hold back the attacker until we arrive,” said Vitali.
He couldn't say whether he will have time to see his family once the training in Germany is over, but added, “we will be back on the front soon”.
PHOTOS Craig Stennett for The Telegraph
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