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Photos: Inside Ukraine's growing volunteer army, where the elderly and children help with war preparations
Photos: Inside Ukraine's growing volunteer army, where the elderly and children help with war preparations
Marielle DescalsotaFeb 21, 2022, 15:31 IST
A boy plays with a weapon during a weapons training session.Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Around 100,000 Ukrainian civilians, including the elderly, have been mobilized to bolster the country's active military.
Children have also gotten involved in Ukraine's preparation for a possible Russian invasion.
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As the threat of war with Russia looms, Ukraine's civilian army is stirring.
Residents attend an open weapons training session organized for civilians by war veterans and volunteers at one of Kiyv's city beaches.Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
Some of these elderly civilian soldiers began volunteering in 2014 when conflict broke out in Donbas at Ukraine's frontlines.
Civilians train with members of the Georgian Legion, a paramilitary unit comprised mainly of ethnic Georgian volunteers, in 2014.Efrem Lukatsky/AP
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One of the groups that train children and the elderly is a volunteer unit connected with a far-right group.
A boy plays with a weapon during a training session for members of a far-right group in Kyiv.Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Teens have also taken part in defending Ukraine.
Ukrainian teenagers dig trenches for soldiers near the eastern Ukrainian village of Chervone.Aleksey Filippov/AFP/Getty Images
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Some 430,000 children have suffered from the conflict at Ukraine's frontlines, according to UNICEF.
Children playing on tanks on February 16, also known as "Unity Day" — which was created by Ukraine's president after news reports speculated that Russia would invade on that date.Chris McGrath/Getty Images