Estonia has trained 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers since start of all-out war
Фото: mil.ee
Estonia has provided over 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers with training following the start of Russia's full-scale war in February of last year, for around one-sixth of how many EDF conscripts have been trained in that time.
Cpt. Taavi Laasik, press officer for the EDF Headquarters, explained that the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) trains some 3,800 conscripts annually. The number of conscripts to be trained in 2024 has been set at 3,900.
He also noted that the training of the Ukrainian military will bring practical benefits to the Estonian Defense Forces.
"Exchanging know-how and experience is an important part of every course, and this is a two-way street. The EDF is keeping a close eye on events in Ukraine and collects feedback and experience from Ukrainian units who are in Estonia for training purposes. The results are analyzed and used when developing our own training and activities," Laasik said.
Murof said that the costs of training Ukrainian soldiers are covered mutually and as part of the EU Military Assistance Mission supporting Ukraine (EUMAM).
"We have applied for partial funding from the EU, while no payment has yet been made," Murof admitted.
Representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the EDF admitted they cannot talk about training Ukrainian troops or how much it costs in more detail.
In mid-November, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said British forces had trained over 52,000 Ukrainian troops, 30,000 of them as part of the London-run Interflex program. The program has also been used by Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Australia, and Romania. Nevertheless, several countries have trained Ukrainian soldiers through other programs and mutual agreements. For example, Poland and the USA have not joined Interflex.
