Ukrainians are being prepared for total militarization

Photo: UNIAN

The Ministry of Defense is launching a program of general military training for Ukrainians liable for military service. It should serve as the basis for an ambitious program of reform of the Ukrainian army, using the model of Switzerland. Experts fear that the new reform may destroy the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which just started to recover with the help of volunteers.

Woman's work

Adviser to Defense Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk told Capital that the system of general military training would be divided into two stages. The first stage is preparatory and will be introduced in the nearest future. It will be designed for volunteers who will undergo a 72-hour training course. This program is a part of the larger Basic Military Training (BMT) program developed by the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces. It is assumed that after its approval by the Commander-in-Chief and adoption of the necessary legislation the BMT will be mandatory for all Ukrainian citizens eligible for military service.

“I believe at the national level the program will be introduced next year. For now we are forming experimental groups, which will be trained with consideration of experience of warfare in the ATO,” he says.

Danyluk says the proposed changes will allow for shaping the system of national security based on the principle of Switzerland. In order to do this after the BMT citizens will be invited to continue training in military profession with further contract service in the Armed Forces. The rest will be enrolled in the ranks of the territorial defense militia after combat coordination.
The militia will take part in annual military training, the terms of which are still being discussed. The tasks and timetables of reservist trainings will depend on the age of the militia, but all of them will defend settlements and guard critical facilities and zones.

The issue of personal weapons for the whole duration of service is not yet being discussed. “As part of the special operations forces the militia will be used to create guerrilla, sabotage and reconnaissance networks, which will be involved in cases of occupation or open aggression,” said Danyluk. He said men and women will have to pass the BMT. The latter, in cases of health restrictions, will focus on medical training or civil defense.

The idea of forming the army based on the Swiss system was proposed by Minister of Defense Vitaliy Heletei. On his behalf, the General Staff and the Defense Ministry started developing the concept of general military training for Ukrainians liable for military service in July.

Swiss service

The Swiss Army is based on the principle of universal military duty, though its regular personnel is no higher than 10,000 military professionals. After mobilization each reservist takes a 90-day training course and then returns to civil service. Each year up to the age of 51 reservists are called up for training. During the first 10 years of service, training takes three weeks a year after which the duration is reduced to one week.

Reservists are provided with special prescriptions from the Minister of Defense, which shall be opened in the event of a threat to the territorial integrity. The state provides every trainee with personal protection equipment, uniforms, personal automatic weapons and ammunition, which are stored in soldiers’ places of residence. All these measures allow the defense department to deploy a 650,000 army within two hours. Noteworthy, in Switzerland women are also drafted to the army.

Review

The former defense minister, MP Oleksandr Kuzmuk (Economic Development) believes there is no need to copy the Swiss model in reform of the Ukrainian army. He says every new political leadership of the country started reforming the army in its own way, which resulted in its collapse.

“We have a potential enemy. It is imperative to analyze the experience, but not copy Switzerland, NATO, the U.S. or Russia. We’ve been through this and in the end saw catastrophic results at the beginning of this year,” said Kuzmuk.

He also notes that for training of territorial defense units the army has the necessary staff, but it should not turn down assistance of foreign instructors.

Co-director of Foreign Policy and International Security Programs at the Razumkov Center Oleksiy Melnyk stressed in a conversation with Capital that in May 2014 implementation of all activities within the framework of the program for reform of the AFU was suspended by the decree of the president. He notes that currently a comprehensive analysis of the security and defense sector is being conducted and based on its results a new concept of military doctrine and national security strategy should be drafted.

“I believe the minister should be aware of this. In 2010 – 2013 every new General Staff and ministers developed their programs and concepts and in 2005 they started the formation of an active reserve. Today, any populist proposals lead to further destruction of the combat training of the Army,” he says. He noted that that national military training requires that the issue of funding and support is resolved. In addition, the militia should be guaranteed their jobs and salaries.

Military experts say that over the past three months the Ukrainian army has gone through the process of its formation. In the first place this happened thanks to public initiatives and the volunteer movement.