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ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT OVER EUROPE — The U.S. subject has launched an expanded, much blase grooming programme of Ukrainian forces that is focused connected large-scale combat and meant to bolster Ukraine’s quality to instrumentality backmost territory from Russian forces, the Pentagon’s apical wide said Sunday.
Gen. Mark A. Milley, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said connected a formation from Washington to Europe that the grooming began Sunday astatine the Grafenwoehr Training Area successful Germany and volition proceed for 5 oregon six weeks. About 500 soldiers volition spell done the archetypal mentation of training, focused connected what the subject calls combined-arms warfare, successful which tanks, artillery, combat vehicles and different weapons are layered to maximize the unit they inflict.
“We privation the Ukrainians to person a capableness to successfully support their country,” Milley said. “Ukraine is doing thing much than defending itself, and they are trying to liberate Russian-occupied Ukraine.”
The training, first disclosed successful readying precocious past year, begins arsenic the United States and its allies fastener successful an ever-growing database of weapons that could beryllium utilized successful an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive wrong months. The Biden medication approved the transportation of $3 cardinal successful weapons connected Jan. 6, marking the azygous largest transportation of arms to Ukraine since Russia invaded astir a twelvemonth ago, arsenic the medication seeks practice from different allies to supply akin arms. Among the weapons successful the U.S. bundle are 50 Bradley infantry warring vehicles and motorized howitzer artillery.
Other nations, including Britain, Poland and France, person pledged complementary weapons, including conflict tanks, and Ukraine has pressured Germany to bash the same. Milley said the situation volition beryllium determining however rapidly the Ukrainian subject volition beryllium acceptable and trained to usage each of the caller subject equipment. The concern volition beryllium eased due to the fact that immoderate of the Ukrainian forces already are acquainted with different armored weapons, specified arsenic the T-72 tank.
“It’ll instrumentality a spot of time,” Milley said. “Five, six, seven, 8 weeks, who knows. We’ll spot what happens here. But successful presumption of the criticality of it, the request is now.”
The wide plans to walk the week successful Europe, gathering with European counterparts, viewing the training, observing logistics hubs done which weapons flow, and participating successful a readying league that volition see NATO allies and Ukrainian subject officials. On Friday, helium and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin volition enactment successful a gathering of the Ukraine Contact Group, successful which countries supporting the authorities successful Kyiv travel together, measure what Ukraine needs and marque commitments astir what they tin provide.
Milley said that Ukraine’s archetypal precedence is uncovering much aerial defenses, a continuing situation highlighted by a Russian rocket onslaught connected a civilian flat analyzable successful the metropolis of Dnipro connected Saturday that killed dozens of people.
“They’re getting deed each fewer weeks with truly important attacks, and their attacks connected the civilian infrastructure,” the wide said. “The Russians are consciously, arsenic a substance of policy, attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure. That successful of itself is simply a warfare crime.”
War successful Ukraine: What you request to know
The latest: Russia claimed Friday to person seized power of Soledar, a heavy contested salt-mining municipality successful eastbound Ukraine wherever warring has raged successful caller days, but a Ukrainian subject authoritative maintained that the conflict was not yet over.
Russia’s Gamble: The Post examined the road to warfare successful Ukraine, and Western efforts to unite to thwart the Kremlin’s plans, done extended interviews with much than 3 twelve elder U.S., Ukrainian, European and NATO officials.
Photos: Washington Post photographers person been connected the crushed from the opening of the warfare — here’s immoderate of their astir almighty work.
How you tin help: Here are ways those successful the U.S. tin support the Ukrainian people arsenic good arsenic what radical astir the satellite person been donating.
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Understanding the Russia-Ukraine conflict
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