Western nations began to train Ukrainian troops long before Russia launched a military operation in the neighbouring country. The US has been doing so for quite a while, with other countries, including Washington’s allies, following suit. Here is a closer look into the notorious list.
Despite the West’s incessant flow of money, weapons and military packages to Kiev, the US and its allies do not think twice before insisting that they are not parts of the Ukraine conflict, allegations which Russia says hold no water.
Moscow has repeatedly blasted the West over "recklessly investing in protracting hostilities" in Ukraine by supplying arms to the Kiev regime.
Following the latest decision by the EU to funnel additional millions of euros in military assistance to Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Brussels for allocating more money to "train and equip Ukrainian militants with deadly weapons which will continue to destroy civilians, destroy civilian and critical infrastructure".
Who Sends Instructors to Train Ukrainian Soldiers?
Information published on the US State Department website earlier in October revealed that Washington has been involved in providing Kiev with military training-related assistance since 2014. A year later, the UK military sent military instructors to eastern Ukraine, where local forces were taught first aid and defensive tactics. Apart from the US and the UK, other countries which trained the Ukrainian Army include:
- Canada
- Germany
- Denmark
- The Netherlands
- Spain
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Finland
- Norway
- Iceland
- Estonia
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- New Zealand
Where are Ukrainian Forces Being Trained?
Prior to Moscow kicking off its military operation in Ukraine, the Pentagon, joined by some of its allies, carried out some training sessions on Ukrainian soil. Following that, the US Department of Defense relocated its instructors to Germany and several unspecified areas in Europe, DoD officials confirmed last month.
In September, head of the US Special Operations Command Europe Steven Edwards argued that US special forces involved in training Ukrainian soldiers had been pulled out of Ukraine after February 24.
Edwards added that the US had shifted to a system in which military instructors conduct remote training alongside partners and allies.
Earlier this year, the UK started to host scores of military instructors from an array of countries, including Canada, Sweden and Finland.
Their deployment came in sync with an initiative encouraged last summer by then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who stressed the necessity of training about 10,000 Ukrainian troops within at least four months.
At the time, BoJo urged members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) to join his initiative. The JEF was formed in 2014 and currently consists of:
- Denmark
- Finland
- Estonia
- Iceland
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- The Netherlands
- Sweden
- Norway
Johnson likewise confirmed that aside from the UK, Poland would also host Ukrainian forces who would be trained to use anti-aircraft equipment, among other tasks.
In one of the latest moves, EU countries agreed earlier in October to train 15,000 Ukrainian military personnel in the bloc’s various member states as part of its so-called Military Assistance Mission. Its headquarters is to be located in Brussels, and Admiral Herve Blejean, the director of the EEAS’ Military Planning and Conduct Capability, is set to bemission commander.
Similarly, French Armies Minister Sebastien Lecornu pledged that his country would provide training to about 2,000 Ukrainian troops. Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, however, said that Budapest will “not participate in this training mission”.
©AFP 2022 / DANIEL LEAL
Are There Foreign Instructors in Ukraine?
The West currently remains mum on the issue of foreign instructors based in Ukraine.
However, a number of military training centers in the country have been destroyed since late February.
In June, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a news briefing that the Russian military had destroyed an artillery training center of the Ukrainian Armed Force, in which foreign mercenaries taught local soldiers to handle the US-made 155mm M777 howitzers. He added that “high-precision air-launched missiles” hit the training center near Stetskovka in the Sumy region.
According to Russian media, there were up to 50 NATO instructors in Ukraine last year from the US, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, who also trained Ukrainian troops in previous years under the US-run program JMTG-U (Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine). How Are Trainings Conducted?
Sputnik estimates that foreign “training programs” for Ukrainian soldiers, in particular, stipulate that troops are drilled in the implementation of the following tasks:
- Handling modern weapons
- Mining roads
- Blowing up cars
- Carrying out sabotage and terrorist attacks
Before Moscow started its operation in Ukraine, foreign instructors were involved in preparing sabotage groups and sappers there. They also trained Ukrainian soldiers to conduct sniper work and fire adjustment, specifically focusing on things like disguising explosive devices as household items.
© AFP 2022 / YURIY DYACHYSHYN
As far as the US is concerned, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters in May about training sessions for Ukrainian troops that take place in Germany and other “key” areas. He declined to elaborate.
Kirby said that the US had begun teaching the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use “key weapons systems” at US military bases in Germany.
According to him, the training process includes the use of advanced artillery equipment, as well as new radar stations and armored vehicles that Washington supplies to Kiev.
The remarks were preceded by The Hill citing unnamed Pentagon sources as saying that 20 Ukrainian soldiers had completed a weeklong training course in the US in how to use Phoenix Ghost loitering ammunition.
In the UK, training sessions are conducted in line with Britain’s basic infantry training and comprise a number of tasks, according to the country’s Defense Ministry:
- weapons-handling
- battlefield first aid
- field craft
- patrol tactics
- trench and urban warfare
The course’s advanced training includes:
- trench and urban warfare
- vehicle-mounted operations
- battlefield exercises in simulated combat environments
How Much Does Training Ukraine’s Troop Cost?
Washington and its allies inject hefty sums into providing Kiev with military assistance. Pentagon official Joseph Hilbert told reporters in September that the US pumped about $126 million to train more than 23,000 Ukrainians troops at the Yavorov military base in western Ukraine in 2015. Subsequent years saw the US’ military aid to Ukraine, including training projects, increase significantly, and in 2022, the Pentagon provided $950 million in security assistance to Kiev, according to Department of Defense officials.
The program, which is backed by a host of UK allies, including Sweden, Finland and Canada, stipulates training 10,000 Ukrainian military personnel within four months.
The newspaper El Pais has, meanwhile, reported that military instructors from Spain will drill several hundred Ukrainian troops on Spanish territory as part of the new EU training mission, a program that is expected to cost about €106 million ($103 million).
For now, the US is the biggest provider of military assistance to Kiev, having funneled a whopping $16.8 billion since February. On Washington’s heels is the UK, with £2.3 billion ($2.6 billion) in military support, including training programs designed specifically for Ukraine according to the UK parliament’s website.
Who is Sending Troops to Ukraine?
Western countries continue to insist that they do not send their troops to Ukraine within the framework of the military assistance to Kiev.
At the same time, thousands of foreign mercenaries continue to fight Russian troops in Ukraine, with Russia’s Defense Ministry warning that they are all subject to criminal liability.
“The Kiev regime's urgent attempts to guarantee legal protection to mercenaries, including them in the list of military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the National Guard, or issuing them new passports of Ukrainian citizens, will not save any of them,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in August.
How Big is Ukraine’s Army?
Kiev’s Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov estimated this past summer that the number of Ukrainian troops stood at more than a million, and was comprised of:
- 700,000 in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
- National Police numbering up to 100,000
- 90,000 National Guard
- Up to 60,000 border guards
He declined to elaborate whether the figure includes those who were enlisted in the Ukrainian Army following full draft that was announced by authorities shortly after Russia’s military operation started.
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