Hundreds of foreign soldiers to help train Ukrainian army in Germany: general

Straussberg: German military instructors who teach about 1,000 Ukrainian troops how to use Western tanks and other weapons will soon be reinforced by hundreds of experts from other countries, says Special Training Command The department head said Wednesday (Feb. 22).

Lieutenant General Andreas Marlowe told Reuters in an interview at his headquarters in the town of Strausberg near Berlin. Country.

“Hopefully we can persuade more partners to support us,” he said, noting that the first additional trainers are expected to arrive by the end of March.

Marlowe’s Special Training Command (STC) is part of the European Union’s military mission set in November, which will deploy a range of skills to help Kiev repel a year-long Russian invasion. Train up to 30,000 Ukrainian troops.

Courses in various European countries range from basic training to operating modern tanks such as the Leopard 2, air defense systems, rocket launchers and howitzers.

So far, about 1,500 mostly German soldiers are in charge of training in Germany, with the goal of completing courses for more than 9,000 Ukrainians by the end of 2023, Marlowe said. Stated.

Poland is another major training hub, with courses also operating in Spain, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Italy. Beyond EU missions, US and UK forces are also training Ukrainian forces in Europe.

While public debate over the past few months has focused on whether the West will supply Ukraine with tanks, German instructors have stressed the importance of all weapons working in unison. There is

Such warfare, which the military calls combined arms operations, is seen as a strength of NATO forces, as opposed to Russian ones, and experts say strength comes from vast numbers of troops and weapons. I’m betting

“We see tanks and infantry fighting vehicles as inseparable twins going into battle together, with other support such as artillery, engineers and air defense systems,” Marlow said.

“Only this combination creates synergies that are more advantageous than someone using the military without this kind of orchestration,” he added, adding that tanks operating alone would not have the ability to anti-tank weapons into vehicles. noted as vulnerable to attack by oncoming infantry. blind spot.

Marlowe said he was impressed with the quickness, skill and dedication of the Ukrainian military.

“When you see these young men training in tanks, in infantry fighting vehicles heading into direct combat, it gets to you – unlike an artilleryman who fires from a distance,” he said.