France to continue training Ukrainian soldiers on its soil

France will persist in training Ukrainian soldiers within its borders, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated. 

“I have this intention, and I am working on it. We need to be able to train soldiers who will complement the ‘Anne of Kyiv’ brigade,” said the minister in response to a question about the continuation of military training for Ukrainians in France, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

Currently, French military personnel are training approximately 2,300 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Grand Est region of eastern France.

According to Lecornu, “Ukraine needs to form about a dozen new brigades.”

Regarding military assistance, Lecornu noted that “France is in the process of creating strategic closeness with Ukraine.” When asked whether the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine would harm the French budget, he explained that Paris is sending older equipment that the military intended to replace with more modern alternatives. Furthermore, if new equipment is supplied, it “is ordered not from the US but from French enterprises.”

“We are also using revenues from frozen Russian assets to purchase military equipment for Ukraine. France received €300 million by the end of 2024. With this funding, we have ordered 12 new Caesar self-propelled howitzers, as well as 155mm shells, Aster missiles, AASM guided bombs, launchers, and Mistral missiles,” Lecornu added.

In September, France started training a Ukrainian brigade on its territory for front-line deployment against invading Russian forces.

A total of 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers are being trained as part of the "Anne of Kyiv" Brigade in Grand Est, with plans to add another 2,200 who will be trained in Ukraine.

France has allocated some 1,500 personnel to prepare Ukrainian soldiers for frontline combat. 

By Khagan Isayev