Ukrainian artillerymen fire the M109 self-propelled howitzer during training at Grafenwoehr Training Area, May 12, 2022. Soldiers from the U.S. and Norway trained Armed Forces of Ukraine artillerymen on the howitzers as part of security assistance packages from their respective countries. (Sgt. Spencer Rhodes/US Army)
WASHINGTON — The United States will provide combined arms maneuver training to Ukraine geared at enabling the Ukrainian military to better conduct joint operations at the battalion level, the Pentagon announced today.
The new training course, which begins in January, will be led by 7th Army Training Command in Germany and teach about 500 Ukrainian troops per month, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing.
The basic idea is to give Ukraine a more sophisticated level of training that incorporates some of the advanced Western equipment — such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) — it has obtained over the course of the war.
“You’ve heard [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin talk about how the equipment is important, but it’s how to take that equipment and apply it in the field in a way that’s going to enable you to do combined arms and achieve decisive effects on the battlefield [that matters]. And so, this training will contribute to that,” he said.
After some introductory instruction in a classroom setting, students will move through live-fire training at the squad, platoon and company levels. The course — which will also provide headquarter staff training — will culminate at a battalion-level field exercise. It could also change over time to adjust to the Ukrainian military’s needs, Ryder said.
The Biden administration has provided more than $19.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February. On the training side, most of that aid has been spent on teaching Ukrainian troops how to operate Western equipment like HIMARS or NASAMS, with 3,100 troops moving through such training since April, Ryder said.
The announcement of the new training program comes days after reports that the Biden administration is finalizing plans to give Ukraine the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, with a public announcement that could occur as early as this week, according to CNN.
Earlier today, the Russian foreign ministry decried the proposed plan as “provocative,” stating that the transfer of the technology to Ukraine “could entail possible consequences,” according to PBS.
Ryder, who declined to comment on the administration’s discussions on Patriot, said the United States will not allow Russia to dictate what security assistance is provided to Ukraine.
“I find it ironic and very telling that officials from a country that brutally attacked its neighbor in an illegal and unprovoked invasion — through a campaign that is deliberately targeting and killing innocent civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure — that they would choose to use words like ‘provocative’ to describe defensive systems that are meant to save lives and protect civilians,” Ryder said, calling Russia’s statement “propaganda” meant to paint Moscow as a victim, when it is in fact the aggressor.
The United States does not seek conflict with Russia, he said, adding that Russia “could deescalate the situation today by withdrawing their forces and saving countless innocent lives. But clearly they’ve chosen to double down.”
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