As Russia keeps moving forward, some countries in NATO are thinking about sending their soldiers to Ukraine to help train Ukrainian soldiers. This could mean that the United States and Europe get more involved in the war.
Ukraine doesn’t have enough soldiers, and they’re struggling on the battlefield. Russia is attacking them more, taking advantage of delays in getting weapons from America. Ukraine has asked America and other NATO countries to help train 150,000 new soldiers so they can fight better and faster.
America hasn’t said yes yet, but General Charles Q. Brown Jr., who leads the American military, thinks NATO will send trainers eventually. But he says it’s risky because the trainers might be in danger, and protecting them might mean leaving other important things vulnerable.
If NATO does send trainers, America has to protect them if they’re attacked, which could mean getting even more involved in the war.
The American government doesn’t want to send soldiers to Ukraine, and they’re telling NATO countries not to send their soldiers either. But France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, says we shouldn’t rule it out. Some other countries, like Estonia and Lithuania, are also thinking about sending their soldiers to help.
Even though America has trained Ukrainian soldiers before, they need better training now to fight against Russia. We used to have a training program in Ukraine, but we stopped it when the war started.
American and allied training hasn’t always worked out. Before, U.S. soldiers trained Ukrainian units in Germany on things like maneuver warfare and mine clearing. But getting the hang of using tanks, artillery, and troops together is tough, especially in a short 12-week training. Adding to the challenge is that Ukraine’s battlefield is very different and more intense than what American forces are used to.
Bringing the training to Ukraine would let American trainers learn faster about what’s happening on the front lines there, which could help improve the training.
Last month, NATO asked Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, the top commander for Europe, to figure out how to help Ukraine more while keeping risks low. One idea is to train Ukrainian troops in Lviv, near the country’s western border with Poland.
But Lviv has already been bombed by Russia, including just a few weeks ago when important buildings were hit.
Some officials think lots of new Ukrainian recruits might still be sent to big training areas in Germany and Poland.
But that means moving the troops to training areas in Germany, teaching them complex maneuvers, and then sending them nearly 1,000 miles to Lviv and then Kyiv to fight.
“When Russia first invaded Crimea in 2014, we sent more troops into Ukraine to train Ukrainian forces in western Ukraine, and we kept doing that until 2022, when we got worried and pulled them out,” said Evelyn Farkas, who used to work at the Pentagon. “So it’s not surprising now that there’s a shortage of soldiers at the Ukrainian front, NATO members are thinking about how to help from behind.”
Other NATO countries, like Britain, Germany, and France, are working to have defense contractors in Ukraine to help fix and build weapons systems closer to the fighting. The White House is thinking about changing its rule that stops American defense contractors from working in Ukraine, although a few have already been allowed in to work on specific weapons systems.
