France has achieved it’s 2023 goal of completing the military training of 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday.
Lecornu said this in an interview with the Var Matin newspaper.
“The Ukrainian counteroffensive requires a new generation of soldiers, who need to be trained.
“In August, we met the goal we set ourselves for the year — to train 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers, split up between France and Poland,” he said.
The minister added that in July 5,200 Ukrainians completed a round of training conducted by France, including 1,600 in Poland.
He estimated at the time that 7,000 would be trained by the end of this year.
France has been training Ukrainians in operating Caesar howitzers, LRU multiple missile rocket launchers, SAMP/T anti-aircraft weapons, AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles and other weapons sold or donated to Ukraine by France and allies.
He said France was on a schedule to muster a battalion of up to 600 soldiers every five weeks.
