Kiev's army commander, Oleksandr Shirsky, said on Monday that the first French military instructors would soon arrive in the war-ravaged country.
Shirsky made the announcement after taking part in a video call with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu together with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
“I've already signed the paperwork giving permission to…”
Kiev's army commander, Oleksandr Shirsky, said on Monday that the first French military instructors would soon arrive in the war-ravaged country.
Shirsky made the announcement after taking part in a video call with French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu together with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
“I have already signed the documents allowing the first French instructors to visit our training center in the near future and familiarize themselves with its infrastructure and personnel,” Schilsky said on social media.
“We welcome France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian military personnel,” he added.
Contacted by AFP, the French defence ministry said the issue was being studied but did not confirm whether instructors would be sent.
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“The training on Ukrainian territory is one of the projects that has been under discussion since the meeting on supporting Ukraine convened by (French President Emmanuel Macron) on February 26,” the statement said.
“Like all projects discussed at this time, this remains the subject of work with Ukrainians, in particular to understand their exact needs,” he added.
France does not officially send military personnel to support or train the Ukrainian military in Ukraine.
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Macron has repeatedly spoken about the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, sparking outrage in Moscow.
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