Soldiers scramble through trenches under a haze of yellow smoke, machine gunfire booms across the fields, invisible drones buzz overhead and voices scream in Ukrainian “Watch out!”

The scene could be 1,860 miles away in Ukraine’s Donbas region, but instead some 2,000 Ukrainian conscripts and veterans are training in the muddy fields of France’s eastern Marne region, where French and German armies once hammered each other during World War I. 

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The initiative is part of a European Union-funded program that has already prepared 60,000 Ukrainians for the front lines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

For this training, the French military has tried to recreate the conditions faced by the Ukrainian forces back home, while training them on the equipment that France is providing.

This includes 128 armored vehicles for troop movements and reconnaissance, Caesar howitzers, anti-tank missile units, surface-to-air missiles and battlefield radars. 

The Anne of Kyiv brigade – named after a princess who married French King Henri I in 1051 in nearby Reims cathedral – has been training in France since September, and in the next 10 days will head to Poland before being dispatched to the front.

French officials say Ukraine needs as many as 15 new highly trained, battle-ready brigades, especially amid uncertainty over future Western military aid following the victory of Donald Trump – a strong critic of such aid – in the U.S. elections.

‘WAR FOR OUR EXISTENCE’

Most of the Ukrainians being trained here only joined the army a month before coming to France, while about 10% are veterans. Their average age is 38, but some are as old as 50.

Those who spoke to Reuters sounded apprehensive but determined to defend their country.

“Fear is part of war. For us, it’s a war for our existence and survival,” said Ukrainian Col. Dmytro Rymschyn, 38, who heads the Anne of Kyiv brigade. 

“We will soon go back to our native land and our brigade will show its competence. I believe in our victory.”

Mykhailo, 50, who left a chemical factory to join the army, was trained to lead an AMX light tank squadron.

When asked whether he hoped the war could end by year-end, he smiled awkwardly: “The hope is that it finishes before we have to go back.”

French officials said the current trainees, despite many being civilians, were learning quickly and were showing how Ukraine’s army can adapt despite shortages on the ground. 

After nine weeks of training, the Ukrainians were now able, for example, to repel an attack on their trenches and to mount a counter-attack.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told reporters France hoped to prepare more such troops in coming months.

“There is a certain human element to all of this,” he added. “There is an exchange with people here who in several weeks will be in a combat situation on the frontline and some of them may well lose their lives.”

The park is enforcing the changes in a bid to prevent overtourism and protect the world-famous remains of the Roman city which was buried under ash and rock following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.

The park’s director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said visitors to the main archaeological site exceed an average of 15,000 to 20,000 every day, and the new daily cap will prevent the numbers from surging further.

”We are working on a series of projects to lift the human pressure on the site, which could pose risks both for visitors and the heritage (that is) so unique and fragile,” he said.

On Friday, the park introduced personalised tickets which include the full name of each visitor. A maximum of 20,000 tickets will be released each day, with different time slots allocated during the peak summer season.

Park management is also trying to lure more tourists to other ancient sites connected to Pompeii with a free shuttle bus as part of the ‘Greater Pompeii’ project.

The sites include Stabia, Torre Annunziata and Boscoreale.

”The measures to manage flows and safety and the personalisation of the visits are part of this strategy,” Zuchtriegel said.

”We are aiming for slow, sustainable, pleasant and non-mass tourism and above all widespread throughout the territory around the UNESCO site, which is full of cultural jewels to discover.”