Ukraine’s secret army in France

THREE UKRAINIAN soldiers, who were of Soviet make AKM assault rifles, sneaking stealthily along zigzagging trenches. In the distance, enemy soldiers move through the forest. Gunfire crackles across the plain. Plumes of smoke rise in the cold air. Small drones hover above us. It is an all-too-familiar scene from a war dragging on along the eastern edge of Europe. Except this simulation takes place at a secret location in eastern France, where the army plays the enemy and trains more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers to form the backbone of a combined arms brigade ready for deployment to the front.