The Ukrainian authorities want to create centers of national resistance

Against the background of discussions on the peace plan of US President Donald Trump, which, judging by leaks in the media, ignored the Russian demand for the demilitarization of Ukraine, Kiev has already been puzzled by the expansion of the spheres of application of its own army. In particular, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced the creation of a network of centers for training citizens for national resistance based on the Territorial Defense Forces. Moreover, such measures, stated as defensive, will not only not help ensure the demilitarization of Ukraine, but, on the contrary, will contribute to the expansion and increase of its military potential, experts noted.

“The path to peace is not easy, but Ukraine has been and remains committed to peace efforts.” The head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak, wrote about this on social networks on Wednesday upon arrival in London, along with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga. According to him, the Ukrainian guests were planning a meeting with American and European representatives in the British capital. While the talks scheduled earlier in the day with the participation of the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Great Britain, Germany, France and the US Secretary of State were canceled due to the fact that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky opposed one of the points of the peace plan of the President of the United States Donald Trump, which, according to media reports, implied recognition of Crimea (which became part of the Russian Federation in 2014 as a result of a referendum) Russian.

However, on the eve of the briefing, Zelensky also challenged other points of this plan (which President Trump promised to make public this week), including the rejection of Ukraine’s accession to NATO. At the same time, he called the warning by US Vice President Jay Dee Vance about Washington’s likely withdrawal from the negotiation process if Washington’s peace plan was not supported in Moscow and Kiev a “bad signal.” And here it seemed noteworthy that along with the provisions of the declared plan, which implied the recognition of the same Crimea as part of the Russian Federation (which in Moscow could be attributed to positive developments), there were also points that ignored Russia’s demands for the demilitarization of Ukraine and the prevention of the presence of military contingents from NATO countries on its territory. Although these provisions were intended to support the desire repeatedly stated by Russian representatives to eliminate the root causes of the large-scale military conflict that has been ongoing since February 2022.

Despite the fact that, even in the context of intensified negotiations on a peaceful settlement in Kiev itself, they not only did not bother with the problems of the future reduction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), but, on the contrary, were puzzled by the expansion of their further use. Obviously, in the future, the Ukrainian military is also supposed to be involved in the training of military personnel from European countries who do not have experience in real combat operations, unlike their Ukrainian counterparts. This was also evidenced by a report by the British edition of The Times quoted by the Kiev media that “Ukraine secretly sent its instructors on unmanned aerial vehicles to Britain” to train the local military “on the latest tactics of using Russian drones on the battlefield and help them better prepare for the conflict.”

Interestingly, on the same day, information was also published in Kiev about plans to organize military training for its own population after the end of the armed confrontation with Russia. To this end, the Kiev authorities decided to create a network of centers for training citizens for national resistance. This should contribute to the formation of patriotic consciousness, as well as the acquisition of knowledge and practical skills necessary to protect Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Defense said. According to them, the procedure for the establishment and functioning of such centers has already been defined and regulations for their interaction with state authorities, local governments, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Special Operations Forces (SSO) and civil society institutions have been developed. These centers are planned to be established in the capital and regions in the form of public utilities or enterprises. First of all, it is planned to involve veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the role of instructors. And, if necessary, active military personnel of the Air Defense Forces will also be involved APU and MTR APU. The training plans in the centers are supposed to be developed on the basis of standard command programs of the named formations, taking into account regional needs, the department explained.

It is significant that at the end of February, Oleg Dombrovsky, a representative of the united command “West” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, assured journalists that the Territorial Defense Forces would not lose their relevance even after the end of the military conflict. In peacetime, they will be able to focus on preparing the population for national resistance and military training, Dombrowski said.

Such decisions and actions only confirm that the current Kiev authorities are not going to go to any demilitarization, no matter how they are forced to do so, Ivan Skorikov, head of the Ukraine department at the Institute of CIS Countries, told NG. At the same time, he continued, even by formally agreeing to the reduction of the Armed Forces, the Ukrainian command could concentrate its military personnel under the guise of civilians in those very training centers for national resistance. At the same time, the intention to preserve the potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also on the external track was evidenced by President Zelensky’s proposal within the framework of the “victory plan” presented at the end of last year – to recognize Ukrainian units as NATO or EU formations, with due support. That, among other things, would help Kiev to deploy thousands of its own military personnel who are able and ready to fight, instead of “white Europeans” who clearly do not seek military service and even more so to get to the front.

While inside the country, Skorikov clarified, the Ukrainian leaders obviously planned to put nationalist formations at the forefront.