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| General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
General Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the U.S. military launched a new program to train the Ukrainian army at the U.S. barracks in Germany on Sunday (January 15, 2023), hoping to complete the training of about 500 servicemen in the next 5 to 8 weeks so that they can return to the battlefield to fight the Russian invading army.
Milley plans to go to the camp in person Monday to get first-hand information about the training program. He said the trainees left Ukraine a few days ago. In Germany, they will have the opportunity to use a whole set of weapons and equipment.
Previously, the Pentagon had been reluctant to say when the training would begin.
The purpose of this training is to improve the joint combat skills of Ukrainian soldiers so that they can better carry out counteroffensive or counter-Russian attacks.
General Milley told two accompanying reporters that the training will use a combination of new weapons, including artillery, tanks, and other military vehicles that will be sent to Ukraine, saying it is key to helping Ukraine repel Russia and retake lost ground.
Ukrainian forces are engaged in heavy fighting with Russian forces in several places in the east and southeast.
Before launching the military training program, the U.S. military focused on providing Ukrainian forces with much-needed equipment on the battlefield and how to use it and has trained more than 3,000 Ukrainian servicemen so far in how to use and maintain U.S.-supplied equipment such as artillery and armored vehicles.
In addition, other European allies are also providing equipment and training to Ukrainian forces to help them fight the Russian invasion.
Russia says a special military operation is underway in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the fighting in Ukraine is progressing well.
(This article is based on an Associated Press report.)