"Maj. Maguire, a UK military officer who spoke to Business Insider on the condition that only his rank and last name be used, said that when he was working with the UK-led training program for Ukrainian soldiers, troops in training had a "massive tendency" to unleash everything at opposing forces. The attitude, he said, was that if you see a Russian, "you shoot them," and you don't stop until they're dead or they surrender."
"Ukraine's defense ministry did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Thousands of rounds of small arms ammunition might be fired down range in a matter of minutes, "and clearly that's not sustainable," Maguire said, sharing that this was "the biggest thing I think we gave them" - helping the Ukrainians identify and communicate clear targets and then measuring the correct response."
Western military instructors identified fire discipline—holding fire and conserving ammunition—as the hardest skill to teach Ukrainian soldiers. Troops initially showed a tendency to unleash all available weapons, driven by an impulse to shoot until the enemy surrendered or was killed. That behavior could produce thousands of rounds downrange in minutes and proved unsustainable. Training emphasized target identification, communication, and measured responses to improve control and coordination. The tendency persisted but became redirected into more disciplined application, enabling highly aggressive offensive fire when necessary. Operation Interflex has trained more than 56,000 Ukrainians with support from 13 partner nations.
Read at Business Insider
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