France has trained some 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces said Thursday during a press briefing.
These training courses, provided
“either in France or in Poland”
, focused on the handling of specific equipment, such as the French Caesar cannons, specific techniques (mine clearance, tactical first aid), as well as more general know-how of training in combined arms combat, the ministry said.
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The training provided by Westerners to the Ukrainian army goes hand in hand with the numerous deliveries of equipment received by Ukraine since the start of the conflict with Russia, even if these deliveries have tended to run out of steam in recent months.
The Ukrainian army is struggling to replenish its ranks
kyiv is awaiting US military aid of $60 billion, currently blocked in Congress.
Its army also lacks artillery ammunition, anti-aircraft defense or even long-range weapons.
It is also struggling to replenish its ranks after the failure of its counter-offensive in the summer of 2023.
Western aid is all the more crucial as Russia is currently on the offensive on the Eastern and Southern front, with no less than 84 Russian attacks recorded at the very beginning of the week, although the Ukrainian army claims to have all
" pushed back
.
These attacks come in the wake of the capture on Saturday by Moscow forces of the town of Avdiïvka, in the Donetsk region, a few days before the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.