Macron invites partners to join military training efforts in Ukraine
Photo: AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron intends to create a coalition to send Western military instructors to Ukraine. To this end, Paris sent letters of invitation to the allies, while the United States and Germany opposed the initiative.
Welt writes this with reference to sources, Rubryka reports.
Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France "will not be alone" in this initiative, referring to the creation of a coalition of several countries that are ready to join the training of the Ukrainian military on the territory of Ukraine.
According to the media, last week, the Chief of the General Staff of France, Thierry Burkhard, sent letters to the United States and about ten European countries, including:
- Great Britain,
- Poland,
- Netherlands,
- Lithuania,
- Latvia,
- Estonia,
- Denmark,
- Sweden
He invited the relevant governments to participate in the training mission in Ukraine.
At the same time, Paris ignored the German government — not a single invitation letter was sent to the Ministry of Defense in Berlin.
In recent weeks, the coalition has repeatedly made it clear during internal negotiations that German soldiers will not participate in the training mission in Brussels.
Although the Americans also disagreed with Marcon's idea, they received a letter anyway.
According to Brussels diplomats, Macron is still trying to carry out a training mission under the auspices of the already-existing EU Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM). However, for this, the mission's mandate would need to be changed. Although it is quite possible, Brussels is resistant to French ideas.
Most EU countries would be against studying in Ukraine, according to Welt.
At the same time, the diplomatic circles of the European Union talked about the fact that, from a military point of view, there are good reasons to train Ukrainian soldiers in their own country. In particular, training would then be more adapted to the needs of the Ukrainian military.
Macron's initiative
A few months ago, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first Western leader to suggest the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
Then, the head of the French state named the conditions under which this initiative could be implemented. In particular, troops may be dispatched in the event of a new Russian attack on Odesa or Kyiv.
However, these days, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, announced that France has decided to send its instructors to Ukraine.
He said he had already signed documents that would allow the first French instructors to visit Ukrainian training centers soon and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel.
However, the French Ministry of Defense did not confirm the information about sending its military instructors to Ukraine. The department notes that this issue is still being worked out.
