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As Ukrainians prepare for a full-blown assault on the capital, the country’s Territorial Defence Forces have seen an influx of first-time recruits signing up to fight Russian troops. FRANCE 24’s team reports from Kyiv, where one unit is being trained by members of a nationalist group that has drawn scrutiny for its historical ties to the far right.
In Kyiv, a group of volunteers is training to join Ukraine’s Territorial Defence Forces.
“Most of them have zero experience,” says Oleg Magdych, a Protestant pastor and deputy commander, “so our goal is to train them and prepare them for the front lines”. His unit is led by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), one of several nationalist and far-right groups participating in the country’s defence against the Russian invasion.
These groups are also at the core of Russia’s propaganda message that Ukraine is in the hand of Nazis. During World War II, OUN actively collaborated with Hitler. More recently, its members have been fighting Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas. Magdych says some of the group’s members hold “extremist” views, but says they do not reflect the organisation as a whole.
FRANCE 24’s James Andre and Jonathan Walsh report from a training camp in Kyiv.
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