A first group of more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers have finished a US training course involving larger-scale maneuvers that could aid Kyiv’s forces in upcoming offensive operations, the Pentagon said Friday.
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“This week, the first Ukrainian battalion completed combined arms training on the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany,” spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement.

The United States has agreed to provide more than 100 Bradleys — which are armed with 25 mm autocannons and can also fire anti-tank missiles — to Ukraine, which is expected to launch a counter-offensive against Russian troops in the coming months.

“Approximately 635 Ukrainians completed the approximately five-week period of instruction, which included basic soldier tasks like marksmanship, along with medical training, squad, platoon and company training, and a battalion force-on-force exercise,” Ryder said.

A mechanized and a field artillery battalion began training two weeks ago, and two more battalions are due to start next week, he added.

The United States — which had already been training Ukrainian soldiers on the use of various weapons systems promised to Kyiv — announced the expanded training program at the end of last year.

It marks a return to the type of instruction that was taking place inside Ukraine before Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
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