Interview with Head of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy, Lieutenant General Pavlo Tkachuk
— Pavlo Petrovych, the military, as a rule, do not agree to interviews during the war — only before and after it. But now it seems that the circumstances are changing, all the more so, among the endless enemy’s threats, the information war has become active, when its influence becomes no less than a frenzied cannon fire… Without delving into the reasons for this, let’s touch on the issues related to the training of our servicemen, their preparation for the performance of assigned duties. In your opinion, to what extent was it possible to take this into account in the educational process of the Academy? And, in particular, what was the reaction of you and your subordinates during the Russians’ attack two years ago?
— What could have been the reaction, if long before the start of the attack, we had been closely monitoring the Russians’ systematic building up their presence on our eastern borders? And no reassuring explanations of the Russian authorities about any military exercises — current or future — could convince us that there was no real danger in the east of the country, that Russia was not preparing to invade our territory.
After the aggressor began bombing Ukrainian cities and villages on February 24, and enemy military convoys moved from the north, east and south, the warning turned out into a terrible reality: in the very center of Europe, in the 21st century, war began! But neither I nor the staff of our Academy had any panic. As it should be, everyone was in a fighting mood! It is known that the number of Russian troops that entered our territory was 175,000 at that time, and they were planning to parade through the streets of our capital three days later.
Let’s remember how before that the Russian propaganda was gushing about the modernization of its armed forces and their successful actions in various exercises… By the way, together with my colleagues, I was simply amazed at how illiterate the Russian offensive was from a military point of view. On the other hand, the Ukrainian defenders acted professionally and courageously: they not only carried out tasks and orders, but also took the initiative and selflessly fought the invaders. So, our military academies did train their cadets properly. But we will talk about it in detail after the end of the war.
— I agree. Tell us about the first minutes of your activity, when it officially became known about the attack on Ukraine.
— As a military officer, you do not need to be reminded that the command must have appropriate emergency plans. According to such plans, we to put the Academy, so to speak, on a “war footing”. I had to work 24/7. The main task was to preserve our cadets and the entire staff of the Academy under the constant threat of the use of all possible means of destruction by the Russian invaders, while not losing the educational potential. Sorry, we cannot tell everything today, but I believe that even this experience will be included in the textbooks of military art.
It is very important, and I am extremely proud that the graduates of the National Army Academy at that extremely important and critical for Ukraine moment were and remain the backbone of the Ukrainian army, which stood in the way of the Muscovites’ ambitious invasion plans.
— If the graduates of the Academy showed themselves so effectively on the battlefield, they must have been trained perfectly well. What is the peculiarity of such training?
— Since the war in our country has been going on since 2014, the training process of future officers had been constantly improved thanks to the experience gained by our professionals performing the tasks in the East of the country. With the aggressor’s full-scale invasion, curricula and programs began to be slightly adjusted. Training takes place in a permanent-adaptive mode, the intensity of training, accordingly, has also increased.
It is no secret that now in combat work on the front, commanders use the “Kropyva” program: for orientation on the terrain, conducting reconnaissance and fire control. Therefore, servicemen and officers must have perfect command skills in it. In training, we also pay attention to innovations related to changing the tactics of our or enemy units, etc. At this, I emphasize, tactics are constantly changing, and what was actively used yesterday needs to be adjusted now.
— Does this mean that educational programs are also being adjusted?
— Yes, and above all what concerns, for example, the peculiarities of the use of mechanized units in the battle order of a battalion, fire ambush in a defensive battle, adjusting long distance tank fire from UAVs, actions of missile and artillery units as part of reconnaissance and fire groups, engineering measures with increasing the survivability and safety of troops, etc.
Today, Ukrainian military educators carefully analyze the course of hostilities, peculiarities of logistical support in the troops, the use of military equipment and weapons, etc. They study the moral and psychological condition of personnel, which is no less important for the successful performance of combat missions. All these developments are used to improve the training of military professionals of various levels. The Army must constantly improve — both in wartime and in peacetime. This is an axiom that everyone should remember!
Honourable guests of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy
— There is no need to convince anybody in this. It is enough to visit the front for at least one day and see all the burden that falls on the shoulders of our defenders…
— Regardless of how hard the situation at the front is, it must be constantly controlled. We constantly make sure that the officers and all soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are highly motivated, everyone clearly knows and fully realizes his/her combat task for successful performance of a combat mission. I know not from stories that the graduates of the National Army Academy are true professionals in their field, and their knowledge and skills help to properly perform the assigned combat tasks. Commanders of brigades and battalions point out the readiness of our graduates to take responsibility and make decisions under any circumstances at the most critical moments of the battle.
— Today, at all levels, there are talks about the fact that the aid of the West has somewhat slowed down. If you had to raise this topic in communication with foreign guests, what would you focus on first of all?
— In such cases I notice that we must finally realize the seriousness of the consequences of the war for the entire world community. Unfortunately, the world did not quite draw the correct conclusions back in 2014, when the Donbas was occupied, the Crimean Peninsula was annexed, and the Kremlin thus seemed to have obtained permission to invade Ukraine. Today, Western partners are helping us. It is important that this process does not stop, that our plans are not interrupted, because there can be no break in combat operations at the front — there is only a beginning and a victorious finish, of which we all not only dream, but also make great efforts for.
— In one of your interviews, you spoke about specific changes in training programs for future officers. It is clear that the experience gained on the battlefield is taken into consideration, which, by the way, is being actively studied by Western partners…
— We had to explain more than once at different levels that since the beginning of Russia’s aggression, we have focused on acquiring practical skills for the cadets to perform tasks in the primary officer position and in the position that is one level higher. I hope you understand well what exactly I mean… The priority of such training was the practical component, the basis of which was the experience gained during the ATO/JFO, as well as the standards of military training in the armies of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Military academies long ago came to the conclusion that during the first and second years of study, most of time should be devoted to general and general professional training. In the future, the focus should be on special military-educational subjects. And in order to acquire reliable practical skills in the use of weapons and military equipment, more study time should be given to field training. Such an approach increases the level of knowledge and skills of officers, their confidence during combat actions, as evidenced by the positive feedback of commanders of military units.
We had to thoroughly analyze training plans, determine the content of training, taking into account the peculiarities of modern battle. Having reduced the time for studying battalion topics for cadets, we managed to increase the number of command classes for platoon and company level, specific techniques and basic methods of conducting combat operations, in particular, the features of trench combat, leaders’ actions at command and observation posts, on the flanks of a platoon and company All these are crucial moments of modern battle, which should not be neglected. Therefore, our training programs must be dynamic, constantly changing and improving.
A number of initiatives that the National Army Academy put forward, with the support of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Department of Military Education and Science of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the Command of the Ground Forces, are being extended to other military academies. I mean, in particular, the leadership courses (L-1B), which we introduced a few years ago, specialized courses of professional military education (L-1C). By the way, foreign colleagues point out the appropriate level of knowledge of those who studied at them.
— The Academy has considerable experience in cooperation with foreign colleagues. What makes it special today?
— Our Academy is well known in the world. Today, attention to the Academy has increased, because during the training of future officers, we emphasize the combat experience gained in the war with the aggressor. Accordingly, foreign military educational institutions are interested in the achievements of our educational personnel. However, due to the war, there is currently no time and opportunity to go abroad. In the past, we had bilateral exchanges of cadets and teachers with the American West Point, the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the French Special Military School of Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan, the Polish General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University…
Let me remind you that such international military cooperation was initiated in 2006, when William Taylor, the Ambassador of the United States of America to Ukraine, came to us to familiarize himself with the process of officer training. For more than a decade and a half, military delegations from the USA, Poland, France, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, etc. have visited us. If I remember correctly, military personnel from more than thirty countries of the world attended the events held at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre!
Colonel Janne Mäkitalo, Commandant of the Finnish Army Academy visiting the National Army Academy of Ukraine
And there is another fact which helps understand the directions of cooperation. On the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine conducted an institutional audit of military educational institutions, including our Academy. Firstly, to make sure of the correctness of the steps on the way to the introduction of modern principles and approaches to the training of future officers according to NATO standards into the educational process. Secondly, to confirm that the educational base is updated in accordance with the requirements and development of the military education system in general and fully ensures the qualified training of military specialists.
— I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for one of the initiatives of the Academy regarding the publication of a book about graduates who were awarded state awards for courage while performing tasks during the ATO/JFO. Last year, my colleagues from the Borysfen Intel Center and the Foundation of Veterans of Military Intelligence supported this initiative by preparing for publication an illustrated book about heroic deeds of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022, who were awarded the high title of Hero of Ukraine. By the way, the collective work is also about the graduates of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy.
— Yes, the heroism and bravery of our graduates have been recognized by high state awards. During the ten years of war against ruscists, 53 graduates of our Academy were awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, sad to say, a large number of them posthumously. Almost 2000 were awarded military orders. We tell about them in our special printed edition — the magazine “Officer of Ukraine”. We also inform about the graduates who are promoted in positions or granted with early promotion in military ranks. Some of our graduates are already brigade commanders and some hold even higher positions. We remember each graduate and are happy to meet them whenever we can. But during the war, this does not happen very often.
A meeting with a graduate of the National Army Academy, Serhii Volynskyi, Hero of Ukraine, the legendary “Volyna”. Not only Ukraine knows the famous defender of Mariupol, but, without exaggeration, so does the whole world
I am convinced that there is no person in Ukraine who has not been affected by the war… Ukrainians are killed every day, infrastructure is being destroyed. The invaders are openly abusing the civilian population and looting. Therefore, each of our compatriots must make a significant contribution to the common Victory!
It is important and necessary for both the government and the society to support both the defense sector of the state and the Ukrainians who have been resettled from the territories destroyed by the war and occupied by the ruscists. In particular, the way the Lviv Regional Council, where I am a current deputy, does. Already in the first days of the war, it approved the necessary decisions to strengthen our defense capabilities.
Indeed, in these troubled times we have to deal not only with purely military matters, but what can we do… Today I am deeply convinced that the aggressor country is not afraid of NATO’s expansion to the east of Europe, but of strengthening Ukraine’s position and defense capabilities. Russia’s defeat in the war cannot guarantee that in the future it will not try to seize our land again. Therefore, after the Victory, we must be prepared for new threats. And this means — to take care of military education, among other things.
— Pavlo Petrovych, you have touched upon the topic of NATO standards in the training of military personnel for our Armed Forces. What is the role of NATO in this process?
— We have long realized (at least I have) that the approaches and standards of the armies of the North Atlantic Alliance should become the cornerstone of reforming the military training system. Foreign military educators have helped us with this (and I hope they will continue to help). I am referring to the developed programs for training future officers, English courses for cadets, gaining experience during international military exercises and joint trainings, conducting scientific and practical events, etc. All of this undoubtedly strengthens the Ukrainian army, which now has high combat experience, which, again, is being given a closer look by foreign military specialists. We should also keep in mind the professionalism of our high military command, the professionalism of the commanders of military units, that have been holding back the Russian invasion in the East of the country for years. So, we have managed to stop the aggressor in most directions, forcing him to abandon his previous plan and concentrate his efforts on capturing Donetsk and Luhansk regions and intensifying his offensive in southern Ukraine.
Having chosen the course for Euro-Atlantic integration, we have taken a responsible step in our state and civilizational development. Consider: apart from the implementation of principles and values, the North Atlantic Alliance aims to protect a like-minded state from possible military aggression. Besides, I became convinced during my military service that NATO represents modern views and approaches in the training and use of the armed forces, where the priority is education, professionalism, competence, and motivation of servicemen. And, finally, their responsibility for the decision made. At any level!
Recorded by Oleh Makhno
The full interview you can read in the “BINTEL” Geopolitical Analytics Journal
