Lithuania is considering sending soldiers to Ukraine for training purposes
Lithuanian officials are considering the possibility of sending Lithuanian troops to Ukraine, even if only to train Kiev's soldiers, but support in the form of weapons and ammunition remains the main priority for the moment, said Kęstutis Budrys, presidential advisor.
“We are talking about this possibility and we are doing it openly. There are a lot of nuances about what could happen and under what conditions,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Ammunition is the main tool that is needed today and was needed yesterday, but everything is on the table.”
His comment followed French President Emmanuel Macron's recent statement that the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future is not ruled out.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas also spoke about the possibility of NATO troops going to Ukraine for training purposes on Tuesday. According to his words, Lithuania currently has the mandate to organize a training mission for Ukrainians, and Lithuanian troops are training Ukrainians in the UK, Germany and Lithuania.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabriellius Landsberis also spoke about this possibility. Lithuania, like Italy, is a member of the EU and NATO.
Do Ukrainians really need to be trained?
Without wanting to go into political and military detail, as well as the consequences of a possible Russian attack on a training center for Ukrainian soldiers in which there were also Lithuanian soldiers, frankly I wonder what function the Lithuanian trainers, drawn from 21 thousand active soldiers, would have and 28 thousand reserves, in training an armed force which, for better or worse, has two years of war experience and which, if anything, could train other countries for real war.
Councilor Budrys said “many different models for a training mission,” adding that “different options are constantly being discussed.” One way of saying that the training might be a little more active than normal.
As Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its third year, the issue was discussed at a meeting of European leaders in Paris.
“Today there is no consensus on sending ground troops, but nothing should be ruled out. We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” Macron said after the meeting.
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The article Lithuania is considering sending soldiers to Ukraine for training purposes comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-lituania-sta-pensando-di-mandare-soldati-in-ucraina-a-scopo-addestrativo/ on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:42:10 +0000.