Lithuania ready to send troops to Ukraine for training

Lithuania is ready to send its military contingent to Ukraine to assist in troop training, stated the country's Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

Šimonytė reiterated in an interview with Bloomberg that Lithuania had been helping with training Ukrainian military personnel even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and there has been a long-standing cooperation between the Lithuanian and Ukrainian armed forces.

"We train them (Ukrainian soldiers – ed.) in the third countries. We train them in Lithuania. If needed, maybe, we would train them also in Ukraine in partnership with other countries who would be willing to do so," Šimonytė said.

Šimonytė emphasised that everything must be done to help Ukraine that is defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the war against Russia.

On 30 May, Reuters reported that France may soon send military instructors to Ukraine, despite concerns from some allies and criticism from Russia, media reports indicate.

According to Le Monde, French President Emmanuel Macron aims to form a coalition of countries willing to send military instructors to train Ukrainian soldiers directly in Ukraine.