The creator of the group, which includes from 20 to 30 people, the publication calls retired colonel of the US Marine Corps Andy Milburn, who left military service in 2019
LONDON, August 5. /tass/. Former servicemen from the United States, Great Britain, Ireland and other Western countries are engaged in training recruits to join the ranks of the Territorial Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to The Guardian newspaper on Friday, Western instructors currently working in the Donbas call themselves the "Mozart Group" by analogy with the private military company Wagner, also known as the Wagner Group.
The creator of the new group, which includes from 20 to 30 people, the publication calls retired colonel of the US Marine Corps Andy Milburn, who left military service in 2019. Prior to that, he held the position of Chief of Staff of the US Special Operations Command "Center" (SOCCENT) and led an international group to combat the terrorist group IS (banned in the Russian Federation) in Iraq. Milburn told the publication that a private military enterprise, which he organized by recruiting volunteers with extensive military experience from around the world, has firmly established the name "Mozart Group", which he does not quite like. He also does not want his subordinates to be compared with foreign "military tourists", whose actions, according to him, may contribute to the deterioration of relations between Ukraine and the West.
Milburn says that the members of the group not only conduct 10-day training courses for recruits, having already trained several thousand people, but also deliver humanitarian aid to cities near the front line, as well as take civilians out of dangerous areas. He also claims that the activities of the "Mozart Group" are financed mainly by private sponsors from the United States. According to him, the American government does not want to help his company with money, fearing negative political and potentially military consequences if the members of the group are forced to participate in battles against Russian forces. Milburn himself states that his subordinates cease to be members of the "Mozart Group" if they begin to participate in hostilities.
Untrained recruits
Members of the group, which initially worked with the Kiev Defense Forces, told the publication that now they have to train almost untrained recruits, whom Ukrainian commanders temporarily return from the front. According to them, the training process in the Ukrainian armed forces is now "turned upside down", and the country's leadership does not want to officially admit that most of the Ukrainian soldiers do not have military training. The interlocutors of the publication also noted that Western weapons and equipment often cannot be used correctly due to the lack of necessary skills of Ukrainian soldiers. So, according to one of the instructors, the Javelin MANPADS worth $178 thousand becomes useless if the batteries of the guidance system are discharged during the training process.
The UK government warns that persons traveling to Ukraine to participate in hostilities or to assist participants in hostilities may be convicted if they return to the kingdom.
