North Macedonia completes training first group of Ukrainian soldiers

North Macedonia has successfully completed the training of the first group of Ukrainian servicemen, which had been kept secret for security reasons.

The state's defense minister Slavjanka Petrovska said this in an interview with the national television channel Macedonian Television, as quoted by Balkan Insight.

The training was held "at facilities belonging to the army of the North Macedonia, as the government made a decision on this".

Petrovska added that North Macedonia, which joined NATO in 2020, will continue to train the Ukrainian military through 2024 and "as long as it is needed".

The defense minister did not say what kind of training the soldiers received, or how many troops have joined the course.

This military training makes North Macedonia the second Balkan state after Romania to offer bases on its territory for training Ukrainian soldiers.

Since the beginning of the all-out war, North Macedonia has sent ten batches of military aid to Kyiv. The state is one of the largest suppliers of equipment among Ukraine's allies, given its size and population of just under 2 million.

North Macedonia is currently replenishing its stockpile of Western equipment, which it has already sent to Ukraine:

• about 30 Soviet-made T-72 tanks,
• 12 Soviet Mi-24 attack helicopters,
• four Su-25 attack aircraft.

North Macedonia also joined the declaration of the Group of Seven leaders on security commitments to Ukraine.

Romania has suggested to use its airfields since the beginning of the full-scale war to host instructors from other states and train Ukrainian soldiers.

In November this year, it opened a training centre for Ukrainian pilots who will learn to fly F-16 fighters supplied by the West.

In August, Greece proposed to train Ukrainian F-16 pilots, but not on its territory. Slovenia joined the training in 2022, sending its instructors to training sites in Germany.

Last year, Croatia considered opening its bases to train Ukrainian ground forces. However, this step was blocked by the president himself.