Recently, the NGO of the Ukrainian Women’s Guard conducted a training course for women on the basics of self-defence and survival in the city

Not everyone was able to visit it, because now the demand for such training courses is insane: the organisation received one and a half thousand applications.

The training was organised by the Ukrainian Women’s Guard, a resistance network that teaches women how to coordinate and act in an emergency.

Since 2014, specialists have been conducting both civilian and military training for servicemen or those who will join the army.

In five years, some 30,000 women have been trained

Journalist Natalia Bushkovskaya managed to attend the training – and here is her short outline on how to survive in the city during the fighting.

War and women: what do these training courses give?

Of course, in 6 hours no one will become an expert in survival in the apocalypse.

The training allows first of all

• to realise the possibility of danger
• to evaluate one’s own resources;
• consider possible event scenarios;
• create a plan for each scenario;
• understand how to act just for you.

“You can’t rely on the government alone,” said Oleksandr Biletsky, a military expert and one of the training instructors. –

Not because the government is not like that.

The state will do everything to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

But no one will take into account your specific situation ” .

“We have a very simple task. In the event of an emergency, be prepared and united in these situations and ensure safety”, explains Olena Biletska , founder of the NGO .

Women’s course for emergencies and war: what experience do the instructors focus on?

Survival training is combined in several blocks.

After that, you may understand what exactly you need: self-defence, tactical medicine – or it’s time to learn how to shoot.

The training has been developed on real practical cases, such as the experience of the siege of Sarajevo .

And, of course, much has been built on the Ukrainian experience.

The short translation of the training you will read is general and based on the basic rules of survival and self-defence.

Some of it may seem cinematic and unreal.

Maybe it will stay that way.

But trouble can happen to you in particular, even when all is calm in the countryside.

And many training tips are useful, even if you live in the quietest of European cities, but are suddenly attacked.

What rules of self-defence are women taught?

The main task of self-defence is to survive.

You should not be heroic or ‘bossy’ if bad people get into conflict.

You can run away – run. You can talk to a thief – talk.

You can do something disgusting to distract a potential rapist – like get wet?

Feel free to do that.

You should also forget some cinematic methods of self-defence.

“If you clench your fist and hit the attacker in the head, you will break your fingers.

The hand must be open during self-defence.

Sometimes the best tools for protection are not a knife or an electric shock (which citizens cannot use), but a pen, a metal ruler and a sharp-edged folder.

But it is worth learning the secrets of such ‘home self-defence’ separately,’ says coach Viktor Kraevsky.

If you find yourself in a dangerous place, it is important to find a person who can accompany you all the time for some business.

If there are two of you – the risk of ending up in a dangerous situation – is much lower.

If there are three of you, the risks are reduced by 90%.

To run or not to run from the city when they shoot?

The anxious suitcase, which you are now advised to have, is a rather conditional name.

It can be an alarming banana, where there will only be documents and a minimum of cash, which will always be with you.

I am not going to tell the list of things.

Now it can be found anywhere.

The main objective is to decide what you need.

Every member of the family should have their own suitcase.

Your hands should always be free, you should not be difficult.

Being in the city during hostilities is, of course, extremely dangerous.

However, if they are already shooting, there is a high probability that people will start to panic.

Since it is safer to run away or stay, it is questionable.

“Running away when everyone is running away is also a risk.

Maybe it makes sense to wait until the situation calms down a bit, and leave when the active phase of fighting, at least temporarily, stops.

But it is difficult to give a clear recommendation; you have to assess the situation and your own capabilities.

There was, for example, a tragedy when a family in a jeep tried to leave Anthracite and was shot.

Theoretically, an organised evacuation is possible in the city, there could be safe centres, which are reported to the enemy according to the Geneva Convention.

But in the case of Russia, I have no illusions that this country will respect the principles of the Geneva Convention,” said Alexander Biletsky.

He advises those who remain in cities where the shooting is to be recorded crosswise to cover windows with heavy blankets.

This reduces the risk of injury to glass.

How to survive in the city during the siege?

There will always be those who want to leave but cannot.

The siege of the city can take a long time.

The average Ukrainian family has food for three days.

In supermarkets you can find food for four.

But they will be robbed.

The food will have to be bought.

Especially on the black market.

Nobody gives change, so cash should be in small notes.

Because bread can be bought for $10 or $100: the local currency depreciates instantly.

When money depreciates, many household items become very valuable.

For example, cigarettes, women’s tampons, etc.

If the heating is off, the tricks of the trade will help to lubricate the body with plenty of Vaseline, thus better heat retention.

It also heats cardboard and paper well: no wonder the homeless use it while sleeping on the street.

What should you know when electricity and heating have disappeared?

This is the key to surviving in extreme conditions.

We have to join our neighbours.

Solve domestic problems that we don’t even think about in peacetime.

For example, where to put the faeces? If there is no water and you can’t think of anything, the whole family will have intestinal infections within a week.

Is it necessary to think in a trivial way and what to do if someone dies in the house? How to cook?

Energy is gold, so it is better to prepare dinners in a big cauldron for a large number of people.

According to the experience of the occupied cities in the east of the country, looters have bypassed the houses where people gather and organised protection for the accommodation.

And finally, if you still decide to attend these courses:

The essence of all training that teaches self-defense, survival, tactical medicine, home care, shooting, etc. – is not to be situational.

Even if there is a sudden de-escalation, we continue to live with the aggressor country at hand.

And in a year or five they will no longer want to panic about emergency backpacks and air raid shelters.

Taking such courses at least 1-2 times a year should become the norm.

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Source:

Hromadske