In east Ukraine, a web designer learns how to ambush a tank

A reservist of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces takes part in military exercises at a training ground outside Kharkiv, Ukraine December 11, 2021. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Mykola Kholtobin never expected to volunteer to fight for Ukraine, but this week he found himself crouching in a fox hole and lobbing a mock grenade into a tank as part of a training exercise to prepare for a Russian invasion.

The 32-year-old web designer joined dozens of camouflage-clad reservists in the city of Kharkiv, about 25 km (15 miles) from the Russian border, to rehearse for what might happen in the event of an attack.