Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine

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The US announced an expansion of training for Ukrainian armed forces in Europe “to include joint maneuver and combined arms operations training,” according to the Defense Department.  

CNN first reported that the US was considering expanding both the type of training provided to the Ukrainian military as well as the number of forces trained.

“Combined arms maneuver training is a logical next step in our ongoing training efforts which began in 2014 to build the Ukrainian armed forces capacity,” said Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder at a news briefing.

Ryder said the program will train approximately 500 Ukrainians per month starting in January and will be conducted in Germany by US Army Europe and Africa Command’s 7th Army Training Command.

“As we move forward, we will stay flexible and adaptable based on our Ukrainian partners and the evolving situation in Ukraine,” he said.

Ryder said he was “not aware” that the training would require additional US forces to be deployed.

“We have forces in place that have been conducting training, so to my knowledge, no significant increase in support,” he said.

The US had been providing this kind of training to the Ukrainian military prior to the Russian invasion, starting in 2014, according to Ryder.

“When Russia invaded, we withdrew our trainers from Ukraine, and so this is a continuation now of the training that we had previously provided,” Ryder said.

Ryder added that the training will include “live-fire exercises, followed by squad, platoon and company-level training that will then culminate in battalion-level maneuver training.”



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