Vice-rector, scout, and marketing specialist. Stories of those who joined the territorial defence in Lviv

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Lviv Now talked to people who have already joined the ranks of the Lviv region’s territorial defence and asked them about the motivation, military experience, expectations, and problems.

Lviv residents are actively enlisting in the ranks of territorial defence, despite Russia’s claim of withdrawing part of its troops from the Ukrainian borders and experts predictions that a military invasion is not likely in the near future. These are men of different ages and professions. Some of them have no experience of service in the army but say that while there’s relatively quiet time, they want to acquire skills that will be useful in the event of an escalation of hostilities. 

The provisions of the law «On the basis of national resistance» came into force on 1 January 2022, although contracts with reservists of the Armed Forces began to conclude in 2019. 

«It’s better than being mobilized, thrown into a training centre, and then plugged in some «hole» on the frontline»

One of the fighters of the territorial defence of the Lviv region, Mykhailo Krytsun, is 40 years old and works in an organization that deals with different types of lighting. The man says that since his school years, he was brought up in a patriotic spirit due to his participation in the Ukrainian scout organization «Plast», so he always took an active civic position.

I have been participating in Plast since 1995, where we were taught that we should pay a lot of attention to the state. I was a participant in the action against president Kuchma, the Orange Revolution, the Revolution of Dignity. In 2014, during the waves of mobilization, I was not called to the army and had no desire to join the volunteer battalions. In 2019, I found a territorial defence unit and signed a three-year contract,» he said. 

Read also: How Lviv is preparing for defense: interview with chief of Lviv’s territorial defence unit

Territorial defence fighters are trained once a month, and two weeks a year they are summoned to a general military meeting. Additionally, anyone can enrol in monthly courses in air defence, anti-tank weapons, drone control and sapper skills. 

Neither Mykhailo nor his employers oppose this type of service. He continues to receive a salary, and the state reimburses his company for the amount spent on salaries during training, the man explains.

«Every month, I take part in territorial defence training. Before Covid-19, they were more common. We may not have trained for two months, but this summer, we did it intensively.» 

Mykhailo narrates that the Armed Forces of Ukraine organized a competition among eight territorial defence brigades for the title of the best platoon of the Operational Command ‘West’. «250 people competed, and the Lviv region won second place. Zakarpattia region was first, – says Mykhailo Krytsun. – The state returns to the company where I work, the average monthly salary for training and meetings if they take place on weekdays. This is pretty convenient: you do not lose money, and the employer usually does not mind, because in fact, he does not pay money for free, the state returns it to him.»

Training, according to Mykhailo, has different components. They are conducted by instructors from the training centre of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the village of Starychi in the Lviv region. 

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«We learned to shoot from machine guns, hand-held machine guns, Kalashnikov assault rifles, RPG-7 grenade launchers. However, this is only part of the training. Every time we go to study, we definitely learn sapper business, combat tactics and tactical medicine,» – the man explains.

Mykhailo did not serve in the army, he says, he had a military department at Lviv Polytechnic National University, but now he is quite satisfied with his training in the territorial defence unit.

«I had a military department at the Polytechnic, but I didn’t get there because I didn’t give a bribe. Now, we have very active training. Even those who have served in the military say that training in territorial defence is definitely better. Three years in here is equal to a year of service in the Armed Forces, but my acquaintances, who served a year in the military service until 2014, only once went to the firing range, where they were given 20 rounds and one grenade. The rest of the service was on construction sites. We can shoot 60 rounds in one training session. And when we have training on machine guns, the ammunition there is practically non-existent,» – Mykhailo continues. 

The man considers preparing for hostilities during peacetime a good opportunity, because after training in the territorial defence unit, the chance of surviving during the battle is higher.

Read also: In «dire» 2014 Ukrainian citizens, with few resources, defied Russia’s might; here’s what happened in Kharkiv

«I want to prepare for something worse in relatively quiet times. It is better to train for years, get used to weapons, know the basics of tactics, medicine. It is possible that this knowledge will not be needed now, but in three years I will gain a lot of skills in territorial defence. This will increase the chance of surviving the fights, it’s better than being mobilized, thrown into a training centre for two weeks, where nothing will be taught during that time, and then you will plug a «hole» on the frontline, as it was in 2014,» – Mykhailo explains. 

«I want not just to go to shoot at the shooting range, but to work more in different directions to be ready for any situation»

Oleh Yaskiv, Vice-Rector for Research at the Ukrainian Catholic University, recently joined the Lviv Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces. He is 49 years old, has a title of reserve lieutenant, and graduated from the military department at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv in 1994. He says he wants to update his knowledge to be ready for any situation.

«I have been planning to join it for a long time, but took a practical step in October. It’s just that I’m pretty busy, I have a lot of work to do, so somehow I couldn’t get my hands on it. However, later, through my friends, I became the leader of the battalion, took part in a short meeting at the training ground and became an informal member of the battalion, – Oleh Yaskiv says. – It was possible to be in the territorial defence unit unofficially, without signing a contract, then I would be less often involved in training. But I preferred to join officially because I want to not just go and shoot at the shooting range, but work more in different directions to be ready for any situation: whether it’s territorial defence or a combat unit on the front line. It will all depend on the situation.»

In addition to general training, he selected additional monthly anti-aircraft training and competitions to select the best rifle platoon. In any case, even if there is no aggravation, such skills will always agree, Oleh Yaskiv says.

The man faced bureaucratic red tape in the process of signing the contract. He says it was a challenge for him because he works and has had to visit each organization twice.

«A huge challenge is to collect documents. A lot of different information is required, it took me a few weeks to collect them. It was necessary to go twice to different organizations to make a request and pick up the document. And when you’re busy, working, it’s a little stressful. Now that process has been simplified, but I was still collecting documents from the extended list. Personally, it did not demotivate me, but it is a very slow process. We are still moving towards digitalization, digitalization. Such procedures should be simplified,» – the UCU Vice-Rector said.

«We are trying to shift the focus of Lviv residents from everyday life to protecting their own territory»

Another territorial defence fighter, Taras Ishchyk, is 27 years old. Three of the fighters are scouts of «Plast», members of the organisation’s hut «Forest Devils». Taras is a marketer working for a confectionery distributor. Two months ago, he signed a contract to join the ranks of territorial defence. In addition to the usual training that all fighters undergo, Taras maintains a page of the territorial defence of the Lviv region on Facebook and on a Telegram channel on a volunteer basis.

«Since there is an urgent need for information, my task, as a person working in marketing, is to establish effective communication with the Territorial Defense Forces. These units do not consist of military personnel, but of civilians. Therefore, we are very active in all major social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Telegram. We answer questions that interest people, and with our content, we try to shift the focus of attention of Lviv residents, Galicians from everyday life to the protection of their own territory. Territorial defence is extremely important now because no one but ourselves will protect our area, home, our children,» – he said.

Although Taras did not serve in the army, the upbringing in the officer’s family and participation in the «Plast» scout organization, he says, shaped his patriotism. The man made the final decision on territorial defence when it became clear that those who did not serve in the army could join its ranks.

«I did not serve in the army, but my father is a retired lieutenant colonel. In addition, membership in the «Plast» formed my patriotic vision of service to the state. I think patriotic, generally adequately motivated people should join the Territorial Defence Forces. I heard about it before from the news, but I made the decision when my friends started joining these units.» 

«At that time, the Territorial Defense changed its approach to information, emphasizing that people without military experience could join. The target audience of the territorial defence has changed somewhat: those who have already served in the army, understand their task. Now, the emphasis is on involving the general public, the general population. In fact, this is the strategy of Switzerland, Finland, where there is also territorial defence. It is impossible to defeat the armed people completely! «- Taras Ishchyk emphasizes.

Training takes place once a month, the rest of the time the fighters do their own thing, everyone can apply their civilian skills, Taras says.

«I was also interested in the fact that I can apply my professional skills to territorial defence. I believe that anyone, an IT worker, a marketer, a salesperson, can actively join its ranks, having professional skills that he uses in civilian life. That is why we are working on recruiting followers in order to bring all this into one powerful communication flow of information,» – he says.

The ongoing war has no analogues in world history, and ATO veterans are the best instructors, Taras Ishchyk believes.

«We are grateful to our foreign partners who are constantly helping the Ukrainian army financially, as well as to their instructors. However, it is those people who went through the bloodiest battles of the war who must be instructors in the territorial defence units. They have a lot of experience, they know the enemy and the tactics of using certain forces better. And if the territorial defence forces are able to comprehend and study this, it will have a very positive result,» – Taras Ishchyk summarises.

We will recall that Lviv Now spoke with Valerii Kurko, the Commander of the Territorial Defense of the Lviv Region, Lieutenant Colonel, to learn more about how the defence of the city and region is organized. You can read about it in the material.

Roman Tyshchenko-Lamanskyi, translated by Vitalii Holich

Photo: Mykhailo Krytsun

You can read a Ukrainian language version of this story here.

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Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.


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