The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the U.S. military\u2019s new, expanded combat training of Ukrainian forces has begun in Germany
\nBRUSSELS —\u00a0The U.S. military’s new, expanded combat training of Ukrainian forces began in Germany on Sunday, with a goal of getting a battalion of about 500 troops back on the battlefield to fight the Russians in the next five to eight weeks, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
\nMilley, who plans to visit the Grafenwoehr training area on Monday to get a first-hand look at the program, said the troops being trained left\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0a few days ago. In Germany is a full set of weapons and equipment for them to use.
\nUntil now the Pentagon had declined to say exactly when the training would start.
\nThe so-called combined arms training is aimed at honing the skills of the Ukrainian forces so they will be better prepared to launch an offensive or counter any surge in Russian attacks. They will learn how to better move and coordinate their company- and battalion-size units in battle, using combined artillery, armor and ground forces.
\nSpeaking to two reporters traveling with him to Europe on Sunday, Milley said the complex training \u2014 combined with an array of new weapons, artillery, tanks and other vehicles heading to Ukraine \u2014 will be key to helping the country’s forces take back territory that has been captured by Russia in the nearly 11-month-old war.
\n\u201cThis support is really important for Ukraine to be able to defend itself,\u201d Milley said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re hoping to be able to pull this together here in short order.\u201d
\nThe goal, he said, is for all the incoming weapons and equipment to be delivered to Ukraine so that the newly trained forces will be able to use it \u201csometime before the spring rains show up. That would be ideal.\u201d
\nThe new instruction comes as Ukrainian forces face fierce fighting in the eastern Donetsk province, where the Russian military has claimed it has control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar. Ukraine asserts that its troops are still fighting, but if Moscow\u2019s troops take control of Soledar it would allow them to inch closer to the bigger city of Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for months.
\nRussia also launched a widespread barrage of missile strikes, including in Kyiv, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the southeastern city of Dnipro, where the death toll in one apartment building rose to 30.
\nMilley said he wants to make sure the training is on track and whether anything else is needed, and also ensure that it will line up well with the equipment deliveries.<\/p>\n