Zelensky: U.S. Training New Ukrainian Brigade in Germany

U.S. is training a new brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Germany.

This was announced by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening address.

“Also now in Europe, namely in Germany, the American side is training a Ukrainian brigade. And this is important,” Zelensky stated.

He added that negotiations with France are currently underway to train the second brigade in France, following the example of the 155th Mechanized Brigade named after Anna of Kyiv.

The president also announced talks on joint manning of one Ukrainian brigade by the Nordic countries and the Baltic states.

Comprehensive training of Ukrainian brigades by partner countries

The first country to commit to equipping and training an entire Ukrainian brigade, the 155th Mechanized Brigade named after Anna of Kyiv, was France.

The training of this brigade in France became known in early October 2024, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. The training covers a wide range of components, including, in particular: infantry combat, armored combat using the VAB APC, AMX-10RC (French armored combat vehicle), CAESAR artillery systems, air defense using Mistral missiles, anti-tank combat using Milan missiles.

In October, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine had reached an agreement with the French government to equip another army brigade with French weapons as part of military assistance.

In addition, in September 2024, the Northern Brigade project was created, under which the Northern European states were offered to train one Ukrainian battalion each, so that another brigade would eventually be formed.

A similar idea was laid down when the Ukrainian Legion, a volunteer unit to be formed from Ukrainians living abroad, was created in Poland.

“The Ukrainian Legion will train in Poland and be equipped with the help of partners. Every citizen of Ukraine who decides to join the legion will be able to sign a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The newly created 158th Mechanized Brigade is currently undergoing training in Poland. However, it is not known for certain whether this training involves the entire unit or only a certain part of it.