US military to expand training of Ukrainian forces in Germany

More than 15,000 troops have been trained by the US and its allies

A US soldier operates a Project Origin unmanned systems vehicle during a demonstration at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany. Reuters

The US military announced on Thursday that it would expand wartime training in Germany of Ukrainian military personnel with a focus on joint manoeuvre and combined arms operations.

Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Patrick Ryder said the training of about 500 Ukrainian soldiers a month will start in January, building on the more than 15,000 Ukrainian troops trained by the US and its allies since April.

The new training push will be on top of efforts to teach Ukrainians to operate billions of dollars’ worth of specialised western military equipment that the US and its Nato allies have provided since Russia's invasion began on February 24.

“Combined arms manoeuvre training is a logical next step in our ongoing training efforts,” Brig Gen Ryder said, referring to training on how to attack an enemy with several capabilities at once.

The 7th Army Training Command, headquartered in Grafenwoehr, Germany, will carry out the initiative at US ranges in the country, the Pentagon said.

Brig Gen Ryder said the training focus would in the use of systems already in the field rather than weapons that could be delivered in the future.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the US is finalising plans to offer Ukraine the Patriot missile defence system — one of the most advanced systems, and one which could require months of training.

Ukraine has asked its western partners for air defences, including US-made Patriot systems, to protect it from the heavy Russian missile bombardment against its civilian and energy infrastructure.

The coffin of Valeriy Krasnyan is brought out of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. Getty Images

Repairmen work near a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod, outside of Kyiv. AFP

An elderly man walks in front of a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod. AFP

A boy kisses a dog while he charges his phone at the heating tent dubbed a Point of Invincibly in Bucha, Ukraine. AP

A couple uses a laptop in the heating tent. AP

Workers dig out a tire from the rubble of a destroyed storage building at a grain processing center so they can use it for repairs in Siversk, Donetsk region. Reuters

The Chernihiv region found itself on the frontline of Russia's invasion in February, when Moscow's forces were attempting to quickly seize Kyiv. Getty

Russia ultimately retreated from northern Ukraine to focus its attack on the east and south. Getty

The city of Chernihiv on November 28, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Getty

A worker fits in new windows of a building in Chernihiv. Getty

People receive food from AFAT - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Chernihiv. Getty

The people Chernihiv queue up for hot food. Getty

Oleksandr Antonenko stands on a balcony of his apartment damaged by a recent Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters

Mr Antonenko and his mother Liudmyla inside their apartment recently damaged by a Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters

A woman walks in an underpass in Kyiv, on November 26, 2022. AFP

Friends hug after the arrival of a train in the southern city of Kherson. Getty

Residents sort through donated clothing at an aid centre in Kherson. Getty

A Ukrainian soldier stands with a machinegun near Liman in the Donetsk region. AP

Children attend a physical education class at Spilno School in Kyiv. Getty

A woman embraces her friend, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, in Kherson. AFP

Residents inspect a crater left by a Russian military strike in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

Resident Tetiana Reznychenko walks past a work by world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy, on the wall of a destroyed building in the Ukrainian village of Horenka. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. AP

A fisherman sails his boat on the Dnipro as black smoke rises from an oil reserve in Kherson. AFP