Ukrainian military to lengthen training time, improve instructor expertise - Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief

"We are working on extending the period of general military training. The project will start in October or November this year. We continue to focus on improving the quality of training at our military training centers," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces quoted Syrskyi on Fecebook on Sep. 15. 

Syrskyi noted that he held a meeting on troop training that included military leadership responsible for training, as well as commanders of combat brigades and heads of training centers.

During the meeting, they discussed issues impacting the quality of soldier preparation and developed solutions, along with reviewing ways to improve training programs.

"Instructors play a key role in the quality of training. We are focusing on bringing in motivated instructors with combat experience. We are also considering establishing an Instructor School, which will become the primary and sole source of highly qualified instructors," Syrskyi added.

Back in June, The Washington Post reported that Ukrainian commanders were concerned that most recruits mobilized under the new law would reach the front lines with insufficient basic training.

The article cited commanders saying that the training was so inadequate that they often had to spend weeks teaching new soldiers basic skills like shooting.

An officer who spent over a year training new recruits at a Ukrainian training ground, speaking anonymously to WP, said that Soviet-caliber ammunition was scarce at training centers, as it was being conserved for frontline troops. As a result, recruits received very little shooting practice. He noted that the training center had only 20 rounds per person. Additionally, the officer said there was a shortage of grenades and rocket-propelled grenade rounds for training exercises.