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Kharkiv Police “Robocops” Practice CQB, Forest Patrols, and RPG Fire With Khartiia Brigade
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The National Guard of Ukraine's Khartiia Brigade is training patrol police units known as "Robocops" for combat operations in the Kharkiv region, sharing frontline experience in heavy weapons and close-quarters tactics, according to NV on July 10.
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The program is run by the brigade's training section, headed by an officer with the call sign "Myrnyi." He described the patrol police involved, known as the "Robocops," as long-standing partners on the front.
"Robocop is a direction of the patrol police that, from the first day of entering Kharkiv, has been fighting next to us," Myrnyi stated.
The exercises are built around transferring frontline experience rather than teaching fundamentals, he explained.
The officers already have a strong foundation, so the brigade focuses on advanced applications. "We don't spend time on elementary issues; we spend time on leveling up, on implementing our experience in their units," Myrnyi noted.
Training has progressed from individual drills and pair work to group coordination, culminating in forest patrol, group alignment, and movement to battle positions. Earlier stages included mandatory close-quarters battle (CQB) with airsoft and live-fire shooting. The brigade built a small CQB training site to run those scenarios.
Myrnyi emphasized that CQB is essential for officers who may face armed threats during ordinary police work. "CQB is a mandatory element for a police officer who, during a patrol, may encounter a so-called active shooter," he added. The instruction covered the lawful use of military weapons in such situations.
Officers were also familiarized with the arms they may encounter on the battlefield within the brigade's area of responsibility.
These included light and medium machine guns, anti-personnel and anti-tank grenade launchers, and crew-served systems such as a Browning-type heavy machine gun. Instructors demonstrated how to service the weapons and gave officers the chance to fire them.
For the participating police, the format was new. One patrol officer, not identified by name, described the value of aligning with military units for the first time. "For me, everything that is happening now is a new training format," the officer explained.
"It is extremely important now to align with groups, to take part with brigades, with the military," he added.
The same officer recalled handling heavy weapons during the course, including an RPG. "It was very interesting to fire an RPG," he added, noting that few get the chance even in training.
The exercises fit a wider pattern in which Khartiia has become a conduit for hard-won battlefield knowledge across Ukraine's forces.
The brigade has repurposed Western hardware for new missions, converting a US-supplied M113 armored carrier into a remotely operated mine-clearance and resupply vehicle in early July.
Extending that expertise to patrol police reflects a broader push to spread frontline experience beyond the regular army, tightening the links between military brigades and the security services defending the same ground.
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