MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. The US private military company Academi (formerly known as Blackwater) has confirmed its readiness to start training a Ukrainian battalion for street fighting, a military-diplomatic source told TASS on Tuesday.

“The private military company Academi has confirmed to the Kiev authorities its readiness to start training an experimental battalion of 550 men as of January at the request of Ukraine’s General Staff,” the source said.

According to the source the month-long program includes training in marksmanship, operations by assault groups in urban conditions, close combat and combat and logistics support for the battalion.

The cost of instruction is estimated at $3.5 million.