Sniper School
The Sniper School has been operating since 2016 at the Ukrainian Ground Force’s Training Center. Here, snipers are trained from scratch and receive advanced training, and marksmen are also instructed.
Training Program
The school’s priority is to train second-class snipers from scratch. The course lasts three months, half of which is dedicated to marksmanship training. Cadets also study:
- navigation;
- camouflage;
- tactical medicine;
- sapper training, etc.
The final exam lasts a week and tests the entire range of skills in field conditions.
The course curriculum was developed with the participation of Ruslan Shpakovych, a senior sniper instructor at Come Back Alive. Since 2018, it has served as the foundation for sniper training in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Sniper School trains marksmen — sharpshooters within infantry units who use rifles to hit targets at close and medium ranges. This is an accelerated course that lasts about a month.
The school also conducts one-week and multi-week advanced training courses: teaching fighters to operate 308, 338, and 375-caliber weapons. The latter was developed by sniping specialists from the Come Back Alive Foundation. It has been approved at the state level.
In 2024, as part of the “Holy Anger” project by Come Back Alive Foundation, 100 snipers underwent specialized training at the school. The Foundation provided them with modern equipment for effective operations at ranges exceeding 2 kilometers and trained them to use the new weapons at the School’s facility.
The Role of the Come Back Alive Foundation
Since 2017, the Come Back Alive Foundation has systematically supported the school and been involved in its development. The Foundation provides equipment and participates in the development of training programs.
Since 2022, Come Back Alive Foundation has also been overseeing a large-scale renovation of the school. When the project began in 2016, classes were held in an old building on a small site. Major construction work is now nearing completion, and as part of this project, the area where snipers train has been expanded to 40 hectares.
Below are photos from the project handovers:
