Ukrainian brigade named after Anna of Kyiv completes training in France – AP
The French military task force Champagne is completing its mission to train a new brigade named after Anna of Kyiv and consisting of several thousand Ukrainian soldiers [Anna of Kyiv was a princess of Kyivan Rus who became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I – ed.].
AP noted that once deployed, the French-trained and equipped brigade could become a formidable force on the battlefield.
The brigade will consist of 4,500 soldiers formed from infantry battalions, as well as engineers, artillery units and other specialists, as previously stated by the French authorities.
More than 2,000 soldiers are undergoing the last steps of training before going back to Ukraine.
The French servicemen said during the conversation with the AP journalists that most of the Ukrainian soldiers were recently drafted and had only a few weeks of basic training before arriving in France in September.
French authorities stressed that "the Ukrainian military were also training other troops for the brigade back in Ukraine".
The French military sent about 1,500 of its soldiers to the Champagne task force, which is training Ukrainians on how to fight effectively together and how to use and maintain French-provided weapons.
The French military said that the brigade's arsenal will include 18 AMX 10 light tanks, 18 Caesar self-propelled artillery pieces, 128 armoured personnel carriers, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as other weapons and equipment.
Nonetheless, the French military did not allow journalists to interview the Ukrainian soldiers.
French officers who took part in the training said the troops were now better prepared for the fighting that is likely to take place in the coming months.
"Now they are able to fight, they are able to manoeuvre. They are able to use the different specialists and to use the different equipment they will have on the battlefield," Colonel Paul (no surname for security reasons) said.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron published a video of the training of the Ukrainian military and said that as of October, 2,300 soldiers were undergoing training.
Я взяв на себе це зобов’язання: зараз наші військові навчають 2300 українських солдатів у Гранд-Есті, з обладнанням, яке вони використовуватимуть під час місій.
– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 9, 2024
Бригада Анни Київської буде навчена та оснащена завдяки солідарності Франції. pic.twitter.com/6ewiQgqBk2
On 9 October, Macron visited the Ukrainian soldiers of the 155th Brigade, which is undergoing training in the Grand Est region in France’s east, and wished them success.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the brigade would come back to Ukraine "by the end of November".