In 2014, Ukrainian Marines were deployed to eastern Ukraine to defend their country from aggression by Russian-backed insurgents. Over the last three years, Ukrainian forces, including the Marines, have been engaged in the only open armed conflict in Europe; a conflict that still claims lives of Ukrainian service members and civilians on a weekly basis. The Ukrainian Marine Corps was extremely hard hit when the Crimea Crisis erupted, as all but one detachment of Marines was stationed on the peninsula, resulting in significant losses during the illegal Russian annexation. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense knew there was a need for the unique capabilities that Marines brought to the fight and began to actively seek recruits to stand in the place of those that had been lost.

One critical requirement for training the new Marines was to develop and publish a doctrine and leadership manual. With the support of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center, and the US Office of Defense Cooperation in Ukraine, the contents of the book was able to be produced and reviewed at the highest levels of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, in record time. The manual, similar to the USMC Marines publication, includes the wisdom of the warrior ethos and will be small enough to be placed in a pocket and carried near to the Marines’ hearts during training and combat.

Because the need for the manual and sufficient copies had arisen so quickly, it had not been budgeted for in the previous year by Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. When the need was identified to Spirit of America, we immediately took action to help support the training of new recruits and the survivability of Ukrainian Marines serving on the front lines.

With your support, Spirit of America will provide the 6,100 copies of the leadership and doctrine handbook that are required to support the Ukrainian Marines who are fighting to defend their country from Russian aggression.