Following the talks in March 2024 France about the possibility of deploying some units of its armed forces in Ukraine, it took an unexpectedly short time for this scenario to take action. Importantly, those are not combatant units but a group of instructors who will teach the Ukrainian military personnel at training centers in Ukraine.
The documents necessary for French instructors to "soon visit our training centers and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel" have already been signed, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky announced earlier today. However, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was quick to clarify that "discussions with France and other partners in that regard are still underway," the paperwork is being prepared in advance so as not to waste time later.
Read more: France to Send Instructors to Ukraine to Train Ukrainian Defenders – CinC Syrskyi (Updated)
Crucially, the practical aspect of hosting the French instructors remains. Starting 2022, France has already trained about 10,000 Ukrainian troops at boot camps on its territory and inPoland, the training was divided into three courses: operation and maintenance of French weapons, specialized training (reconnaissance, sapper engineering, medical service, etc.), and commanders' class where tactical units were formed to improve the skills of officers at the company-battalion level.
But the main obstacle in this process is that such training is limited by the capacity of the French and Polish training centers, with the former operating on the basis of quite crowded French 200,000-strong armed forces. Now, by bringing French instructors to Ukraine, Paris no longer has these restrictions, so the scope of training and the space of training areas can be expanded.
No less meaningful is that other NATO countries may follow the example set by France, though it is not a collective decision of the security organization, so it's still up to the will of each individual country to approve such initiatives.
In exchange, Ukrainian soldiers can share their valuable experiences of real fighting against the armed forces of the russian federation, their tactics and doctrines, refined in the largest war on the European continent since World War II. That's because many of the Ukrainian troops already have combat experience coming into this training.
#EUMAM | La France soutient l'armée ukrainienne dans son combat pour la liberté.Les armées entraînent les soldats dans le cadre de la mission d’assistance militaire de l’Union européenne en soutien à l’Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/wwFzk1pcfX— Armée française - Opérations militaires (@EtatMajorFR) February 9, 2024
Finally, it should be noted that the issue of deploying instructors of the French armed forces in Ukraine can also become a catalyst for some other important decisions. In particular, against the background of an ongoing discussion about the possibility of Western countries covering Ukrainian skies from russian missile attacks. Considering the presence of its personnel, it may be quite logical for the French military to strengthen air defense of the training camps where the French units will be located.
Read more: Opinion: Ukraine to be Granted Permission to Use Western Weapons in russian Territory
