A latest, expanded combat training for Ukrainian forces began in Germany on Sunday, with the aim of bringing a battalion of around 500 soldiers back to the battlefield. fight the Russians in the subsequent five to eight weeks, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Milley, who plans to go to the Grafenwoehr training ground on Monday to see this system first-hand, said the soldiers in training left Ukraine a number of days ago. In Germany there’s a full set of weapons and equipment for their use.
To date, the Pentagon has refused to present an actual start date for the training.
The so-called combined arms training goals to enhance the talents of Ukrainian forces so that they’re higher prepared to launch an offensive or repel a wave of Russian attacks. They may learn how one can higher move and coordinate their company and battalion sized units in battle using combined artillery, armor and ground forces.
Chatting with two reporters traveling with him to Europe on Sunday, Milley said comprehensive training – coupled with an array of latest weapons, artillery, tanks and other vehicles headed for Ukraine – shall be key to helping the country’s forces regain territory that has been captured by Russia in a virtually 11-month war.
“This support is actually essential for Ukraine to defend itself,” Milley said. “And we hope to give you the option to get it together here in no time.”
The goal, he said, is to get all incoming weapons and equipment to Ukraine for newly trained forces to make use of “sometime before the spring rains come. That will be perfect.
The brand new instructions come as Ukrainian forces engage in fierce fighting in the eastern Donetsk region, where the Russian military claims to regulate the small salt-mining town of Soledar. Ukraine says its troops are still fighting, but when Moscow’s troops took control of Soledar, it could allow them to catch up with to the larger city of Bakhmut, where fighting has been happening for months.
Russia also launched a wide-ranging series of missile attacks, including in Kievnorth-eastern city of Kharkiv and south-eastern city of Dnieperwhere the death toll in one apartment constructing rose to 30.
Milley said he desired to be sure the training was going as planned and if anything was needed, and to be sure it could align with equipment deliveries.
This system will include classroom teaching and field work that may start with small units and steadily expand to larger units. It could culminate in a more complex combat exercise, bringing all the battalion and command unit together.
To date, the USA has been focused on providing Ukrainian forces with more pressing needs on the battlefield, in particular how one can benefit from the vast array of Western weapons systems flowing into the country.
The USA has already trained greater than 3,100 Ukrainian soldiers in the use and maintenance of certain weapons and other equipment, including howitzers, armored vehicles, and a highly mobile artillery missile system often known as HIMARS. Other nations also train in the weapons they supply.
In announcing the brand new program last month, Air Force Brig. General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said the thought was to “provide them with a sophisticated level of collective training that may enable them to conduct effective combined arms operations and maneuver on the battlefield.”
Milley said the US had been conducting any such training prior to the Russian invasion last February. But when the war began, the US National Guard and Special Forces that had been training in Ukraine left the country. This latest effort, which is being carried out by the U.S. Army’s Seventh Army Training Command in Europe and Africa, shall be a continuation of what they were doing prior to the invasion. Other European allies also provide training.