The day after Crimea's controversial referendum – in which 97 percent of the peninsula's population supposedly voted to join the Russian Federation – Ukraine's newly formed National Guard began training in anticipation of further Russian aggression.
Against the backdrop of exploding rocket-propelled grenades, the crackling of heavy machine guns and the rumbling cannons of the BTRs, Ukrainian officials and the international media got a first look at the ragtag civilian force that could be on the frontlines of the New Cold War.