34 countries worldwide co-host regular training for Ukrainian troops abroad – AFU top official

A coalition of 34 allied states helps with the training of Ukrainian forces abroad, says Major General Oleksii Taran in an interview with the ArmyInform.

Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, about 170 headquarters and units of various levels have been trained in these countries as part of newly created brigades.

"These are the United States of America, the United Kingdom, most EU countries, Canada, Norway, Australia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova and Albania. EUMAM (European Union Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine – ed.) does not include Hungary, Austria, and Croatia, but their instructors are also involved in the training."

Allied countries that help train Ukrainian military do it jointly within organizational structures, of which there are two. The first is the US-led Security Assistance Group for Ukraine, and the second is EUMAM.

The main function of these structures is to organize, coordinate and provide all kinds of training activities on the territory of partner countries.

Taran expressed his gratitude to broad assistance from Germany and the US.

"Thanks to the US.-led Security Assistance Group for Ukraine and its head Lieutenant General Antonio Aguto, we managed to organize the most difficult type of training in Germany next year – combat coordination of brigades that suffered losses in the war, while restoring their combat capability."

He also noted that the assistance of Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Romania, and North Macedonia is equally important for Ukraine.

"Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, about 170 headquarters and units of various levels have been trained in these countries from among the newly created brigades."

The United Kingdom is the undisputed leader in organizing basic military training.

"More than 30,000 servicemen have been trained on its territory, and the total number of trained personnel since 2014 – since the beginning of Russia's aggression – has exceeded 50,000 servicemen," Taran said.

The UK created a special training mission called INTERFLEX to guide these activities. After the large-scale war, nine other countries joined the mission – New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Finland, and Norway.

During two years of the all-out war, each country took part in training relevant specialists. Ukraine has received more than 21,000 qualified specialists for more than 160 different types of equipment.

As of November 21, 2023, more than 100,000 servicemen had completed intensive training in the training centers of over 30 partner countries.