Men from the Azov brigade in a public Q&A session in Kyiv after the military training. Photo by Yulia Abibok, fair use. On a Saturday morning in late July, under strong rain, dozens of people started to arrive at a paintball club in Kyiv, Ukraine. Some were anxious, others confused, as they did not find their names on the list of participants. Many arrived from other cities just for this event and planned to leave the Ukrainian capital the same evening. They later learned that all participant slots were filled only 10 minutes after the Azov brigade announced its soldiers would be offering a military training workshop to civilians. Within 24 hours, more than 1,000 people had registered, while only 60 could be accepted. Those lucky enough to be chosen were contacted by phone to confirm their participation. Anyway, we ended up as a group of 80, with some who came without invitation eventually being allowed to join. This frenzy is easy to explain, even as organizers were surprised at the turnout. The Azov brigade is the most prominent even among the elite military units of Ukraine, partly due to Russian propaganda portraying them as dangerous Nazis, partly — and mostly — because of their battlefield performance in Mariupol where they were holding the frontline since 2014 and fiercely fought under siege in 2022. So some of those who came to the Azov event were rather adventurous. This training offered them the opportunity to tell their friends and acquaintances: “I got military training with Azov!” — a statement sure to inspire admiration. For those seeking a military career or just temporary service, being accepted to the already legendary regiment means being recognized as the best of the best. So the majority — some teenagers, most under 30 with some previous training — came to test themselves and determine whether they could fit into Azov and where they needed to improve. As a female acquaintance in Kyiv told me the day before the training, when we discussed available opportunities for civilians to get military preparation, “Sooner or later, all of us will be there,” meaning in the army. In Ukraine this year, the public's sentiments have pivoted from predicting a quick victory, given the Russian army's poor performance in 2022, to preparing for a long war as the Russian army dug into the nearly 20 percent of Ukraine they occupied, as they continue their heavy assaults in some places. Still, practically no Ukrainians want to surrender, especially as the public learns about Russian atrocities in the occupied territory. The public is also not keen to negotiate because the apparent majority believes that the war won't end until the entire Ukrainian territory is liberated because, otherwise, as is the case with Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Moscow could leverage the occupied area either for military bases or to exert influence on Ukraine's internal and foreign policy. About a dozen people came to the Azov training in military uniform — either students of a military college or university or soldiers from other units. Most were civilians in civilian clothes and sneakers, clearly impractical for running in the rain and mud. As we were registering in a crowded pavilion and signing an agreement to be photographed and filmed, a very young man was adjusting a prosthetic leg. Speaking Russian and heavily swearing, he introduced himself by his nom de guerre, Buyvol (Ure). He was our instructor on military tactics. Later, during a separate Q and A session, not swearing anymore, Buyvol told us that he was wounded in Mariupol a month after the Russian full-scale invasion and was evacuated from there by helicopter with several comrades. While constantly joking about his prosthetic leg, he told us that after that month of fighting, he was already so exhausted that he didn't even want to survive after being wounded: some rare insights into the grim picture of the 2022 Mariupol fights. He also said that he joined the Army in 2020 at the age of 18, meaning that he was only 21 when we met him. The training consisted of three parts: physical exercises, tactical moves, and first aid — putting tourniquets on limbs and carrying wounded comrades. All 80 of us did the exercises together, and after that, the instructors divided us into several groups so they could pay attention to everyone and ensure that everyone got his or her tourniquet and rifle. It was the first time I had held a real combat weapon; however, it was not loaded. The instructor said my rifle was too large for me. The rain didn't stop even for a minute. In two hours, I was already sorry that I had come. I was soaking wet and cold and I started to shake.