Israeli Ex-Commandos Train Ukrainian Volunteers

Civilian volunteers attend a training camp of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Civilian volunteers attend a training camp of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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Israeli Ex-Commandos Train Ukrainian Volunteers

Civilian volunteers attend a training camp of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Civilian volunteers attend a training camp of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces in Brovary, northeast of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A group of Israeli ex-commandos has been training Ukrainian civilians, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported Friday.

Reporter Ronen Bergman said he met with the group and watched the training at a zone near the Polish border.

Bergman told the newspaper that the highest political echelons were aware of the training.

These trainers are from one of the many Israeli "military companies" that provide services in various countries worldwide, whether to military organizations or armies.

Direct services or training are provided by these companies, as well institutions, and businesses.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense and Intelligence must issue a formal license for this purpose.

The trainers tried to transfer their combat experience, the newspaper report said.

Some of them have been in Ukraine since the Russian operation began.

They arrived in Ukraine to perform this mission as a Jewish rescue team from different parts of Ukraine who came to provide assistance to Ukrainian citizens following the Russian attacks.

"I understand that there is a need for these exercises,” Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior Israeli source in the security establishment as saying.

“We are all united in our support and solidarity with the nation of Ukraine,” the anonymous official said.



Russian Drone Attacks Injure 8, Damage Buildings in Ukraine

An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS
An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS
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Russian Drone Attacks Injure 8, Damage Buildings in Ukraine

An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS
An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine injured at least eight people and damaged residential buildings in the capital Kyiv and in the southern Odesa region overnight, officials said on Friday.
Ukraine's air force said in a statement that, of 132 drones launched against the country overnight, it had downed 88 drones, while 41 were "lost", likely due to electronic warfare, and one returned to the Russian territory, Reuters reported.
Russia has stepped up its nightly drone attacks on Ukrainian cities as it continues to push along the eastern frontline, making some of its largest monthly territorial gains since 2022.
It launched a record-high number of 188 drones against the country on Tuesday before staging a large-scale attack on Ukraine's power grid on Thursday.
The drone attack on the southern region of Odesa damaged 13 residential buildings and injured seven people, the national police said in a statement.
Fragments from downed Russian drones struck buildings in two Kyiv districts and injured one person late on Thursday, officials said.
Emergency services, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, showed pictures of rubble strewn about inside and outside a pediatric clinic in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
A security guard at the facility was taken to hospital. Adjacent buildings also suffered damage.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone fragments had struck an infrastructure site in the Sviatoshynskyi district on the west bank of the river.
Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported minor damage to a private residence and another building without any casualties.