PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) France plans to launch a five-week training course for Ukrainian soldiers in Poland before the end of 2022, Le Monde newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the defense ministry.
The French military will be deployed in Poland, where officers will train Ukrainian soldiers in specialized military camps, the newspaper reported, adding that the defense ministry wanted to expedite the process and begin the work before the end of the year.
EU defense ministers have agreed at an informal ministerial meeting in Prague in August to launch a joint EU training mission (EUTM) for Ukraine. The program and contents of the mission are still being discussed and could be presented in mid-October.
A number of European countries, including Denmark and Spain, have already expressed their intention to launch their own training programs for the Ukrainian military in addition to EUTM. The United Kingdom said in early September that 4,700 Ukrainian soldiers have undergone military training in UK bases around the country.
According to the newspaper, the French military previously only instructed Ukrainian artillerymen on the use of Caesar guns. According to the French government, 150 Ukrainian specialists were trained. Some French officers worked in Kiev, others worked in the Canjuers military camp in the French department of Var.
France supplied Ukraine with 18 self-propelled 155-mm caliber artillery units Caesar from the army's reserves. In September, French media reported that France would also supply Ukraine with self-propelled 155-mm guns TRF1, which are no longer used by the French military.
