German Defense Ministry confirms EU training for 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers

“We trained around 60,000 soldiers as part of the EU effort, and they will return to Ukraine after training,” said Thomas Hitschler, Germany’s State Secretary of Defense, at the EU defense ministers meeting.

He added that Germany will train another 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of the year.

Discussions are ongoing about the potential deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine

After the Feb. 26 Paris conference in support of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans for a coalition to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons, leaving open the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.

While countries like Poland, the U.S., Germany, Czechia, Canada, and the U.K. rejected the idea, Estonia and Lithuania did not rule it out for training missions.

France clarified that any military involvement would be limited to specific roles, such as air defense or border protection, not direct combat.

Meanwhile, NATO nations have been exploring the potential deployment of troops, with discussions ongoing about extending and expanding the European Training Mission for Ukrainian forces to include training within Ukraine itself.