France spearheads new training mission for Ukrainian soldiers

France announced that it plans to organize a training mission for Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine, as revealed by the German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" on Sunday. Germany was not among the invited countries. However, Poland, several other European countries, and the USA received the invitation.

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to reach an agreement within a few days to send Western military instructors to conflict areas in Ukraine, "Welt am Sonntag" reported. Journalists revealed that the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, Thierry Burkhard, sent a letter last week to the United States and about ten European countries inviting them to participate in the training mission in Ukraine as part of the "multinational coalition of the willing." Among these countries were Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and the Baltic nations—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

"Welt am Sonntag" pointed out that France's invitation bypassed Germany's Ministry of Defence. According to the newspaper, this is due to the fact that the federal government has repeatedly made it clear that German soldiers will not participate in the training mission. At the same time, it highlighted that "the Americans did the same thing already at an early stage, yet they still received an invitation letter."

On Friday, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated that the United States does not want to send its soldiers to Ukraine. Over the weekend, the French President announced that several countries had accepted the invitation.

The German newspaper pointed out that the governments of Germany, Italy, and Spain fear that training in Ukraine could significantly increase the risk of conflict escalation and pose a threat of war between the West and Russia. "However, in EU diplomatic circles, it was also mentioned that—from a military point of view—there are good reasons to train Ukrainian soldiers in their own country. The training would then be better suited to the needs of these soldiers, and they would not have to leave their country," the newspaper reads.

Source: PAP