US Considering Plans to Expand Ukrainian Troop Training
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States plans to expand a training program already underway for troops working under Ukraine’s interior ministry, said Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Commander of US Army Europe.
The program will focus on basic tactical activities, with focus on life-saving techniques and operations in highly contested areas, US Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said.
"We would begin ministry of defense army units training starting in November" Hodges said, adding that "the final decision has not been taken."
Ukraine has deployed around 64,000 servicemen to the Donbass region where Kiev has conducted a 15-month military operation against the self-defense forces.
The program will focus on basic tactical activities, with focus on life-saving techniques and operations in highly contested areas, according to him.
"It's a very effective way to help them that doesn't necessarily require weapons" he pointed out, Sputnik reported on Tuesday.
Hodges said that US allies in Europe must still agree to the plan, adding that "the unity of NATO" is the priority concern.
The US training program for Ukrainian servicemen kicked off in April. It is being directed by military instructors from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, stationed at Camp Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. Some 300 US soldiers are training three Ukrainian battalions in Yavorov.
As Hodges earlier said, the training program includes maintaining security and order in the rear and en-route, protecting infrastructure objects, providing first aid on the battlefield, and conducting operations under heavy artillery fire.