Nadia Lemko
On October 30, 2025 Ucrainica Research Institute hosted a lecture titled “Learning Under Fire: How Canadian Training Shapes Ukraine’s Fight for Sovereignty”, featuring retired Canadian Armed Forces Sergeant Kevin Leach, founder of the Sabre Training Advisory Group (Sabre).
Leach brought a rare combination of military expertise, humanitarian experience, and firsthand knowledge of the war in Ukraine. After a decade of serving with the Canadian Armed Forces, he moved to Ukraine in 2018 to work with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), monitoring the conflict in Donbas. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Leach shifted to humanitarian work—delivering aid to front-line regions—and by November 2022, he founded Sabre, a joint Ukrainian-Canadian not-for-profit dedicated to professionalizing Ukraine’s military training.
Staffed entirely by vetted volunteers with NATO or allied military backgrounds, Sabre provides NATO-aligned instruction adapted to the realities of Ukraine’s battlefields. Its mission: to strengthen Ukraine’s defensive capacity through systematic, practical, and sustainable training methods.
After interviewing more than 300 soldiers, Leach and his team uncovered deep-seated structural and motivational problems in Ukraine’s Basic Combat Training program. One key issue is manpower—many of the best-qualified soldiers who could serve as instructors are fighting on the front lines. Unlike in previous conflicts such as Afghanistan, where helicopter evacuation within the “golden hour” was possible, Ukraine lacks comparable infrastructure, leading to preventable battlefield fatalities.
Leach also warned against what he calls a “dangerous overemphasis” on drones and unmanned systems at the expense of core infantry training. “The role of the infantry is to destroy the enemy,” he explained. “Everything else is simply helping the infantry and enabling their mission.” Ukraine’s severe shortage of trained infantry, he added, represents a critical vulnerability. Sabre aims to bridge that gap by combining Western practices with lessons learned from the front, ensuring Ukrainian soldiers receive training grounded in real combat experience.
Officially recognized as a partner of the National Guard of Ukraine, Sabre has worked with multiple brigades across both the Ground Forces and National Guard. Its instructors focus on addressing manpower shortages, building capacity, and modernizing training to improve NATO interoperability. One story that captures Sabre’s impact comes from the 22nd Brigade, where Pavlo, one of Sabre’s standout trainees, served as a platoon commander. A year later, his platoon remained more intact than most, even as many soldiers across neighboring units were transferred or killed—a stark testament to the difference quality training can make on the battlefield.
Since its founding, Sabre has trained more than 4,200 Ukrainian defenders, supported by over 40,000 volunteer hours from experienced NATO-aligned instructors. Graduates who complete the full training cycle have reported a 60% reduction in casualties within their units. The organization has also delivered over $207,000 worth of supplies directly to frontline formations.
But Leach insists Sabre’s success is measured not just in numbers, but in lives saved. Trainees routinely credit the program with helping them survive combat situations. “Sabre’s strength lies in its adaptability,” one instructor said. “We merge NATO principles with the realities of this war—it’s not theory, it’s survival.”
Sabre’s growing influence has drawn attention from international outlets including Foreign Affairs, DefenseOne, and CBC, amplifying its message that effective, reality-driven training is as vital as any technological innovation. Beyond the training grounds, Sabre has built a wide network across the defense community—partnering with defense attachés, civil society groups, government representatives, and the defense technology sector.
Through his advocacy, Leach underscores a core truth of modern warfare: advanced weapons are only as effective as the people trained to use them. By combining Western military expertise with Ukrainian resilience, Sabre is helping shape a stronger, more capable, and more interoperable defense force—one that continues to learn, adapt, and endure under fire.
