Despite the formal inclusion of knife fighting in basic general military training, Ukrainian soldiers receive almost no practical instruction for close-quarters clashes in trenches and urban areas.

The discussion surrounding the revival of army knife fighting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine emerged following a tragic video of a close-quarters clash in which a Ukrainian soldier was killed in a knife duel with an adversary. Despite public attention, the implementation of this discipline gradually faded away, even though the necessary regulatory orders and manuals had been adopted.

It turns out that at the level of regulations and orders in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a unified knife fighting training system for servicemen and mobilized personnel was introduced, becoming part of basic military training (BMT), but in practice during basic training servicemen encounter it quite rarely, and the overwhelming majority do not encounter it at all.

Maxim Golosnoy noted that he personally observed the lack of such training during his frontline service:

During my service in reconnaissance in both the 92nd and the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigades, I also never encountered practical knife fighting training among personnel.

According to him, the unified program standards were developed and approved by the Land Forces Command of the AFU, with a pilot project initially launched under Operational Command “North”. The training was designed for close quarters in modern warfare — trenches, dugouts, and urban clearing operations, where a knife acts as a weapon of last resort. The curriculum called for theoretical foundations, drills with training knives or improvised tools, mandatory control sparring at the end of each session, and psychological conditioning to overcome the fear of close contact and build confidence under stress.

To address the issue and honor the memory of the fallen soldier, the author proposed organizing official military tournaments:

I would really like to see, as a tribute to the fallen Ukrainian soldier, real official competitions (during combat restoration) at least at the level of a separate Army Corps, not to mention Operational Command ‘South’ or competitions between OC ‘South’ and OC ‘West’.

Maxim Golosnoy stated that he would gladly participate in such events himself, as they help reveal the actual readiness of soldiers within units. He also dismissed skeptical claims that knife skills have lost relevance in modern warfare:

I fully assume someone will say that knife fighting is completely unnecessary in the realities of modern warfare, will say it is a vestige that should be forgotten because it is completely unnecessary, but whichever way you look at it, as practice shows, it increases the chances of survival on the battlefield + it is a very good way of self-improvement and self-discipline, both on an individual level and at the level of a separate unit.