Germany may continue training Ukrainian army recruits in 2025

More Ukrainian army recruits could receive basic training in Germany from next year if Kyiv moves some further military education back to Ukraine.

That's according to Lieutenant-General Andreas Marlow, head of the EU's special training command near Berlin, Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters.

More Ukrainian army recruits could undergo basic training in Germany starting next year if Kyiv transfers part of further military education back to Ukraine, the head of the EU command told Reuters.

"We have received more training requests as Ukraine continues to mobilize, in particular for basic training which is mainly being done by Britain," Marlow.

This would likely affect collective training - involving entire companies or battalions - so far carried out in Germany and which follows basic training, he said.

Marlow noted that Kyiv aims to handle more of the training itself to simplify logistics and allow troops to be available on the battlefield at shorter notice. Spain conducts some training for Ukrainian troops, as does Poland.

Marlow's Special Training Command (STC) is part of a European Union military mission set up in 2022 to train some 60,000 Ukrainian troops in various skills by mid-November 2024 to help Kyiv combat Russia's invasion.

In Germany, instructors from 14 nations have been teaching troops to operate tanks or air defense systems such as Patriot and IRIS-T, while snipers, engineers, paramedics and drone operators learn their trades and IT experts are taught how to fend off hackers.

French President Emmanuel Macron earlier announced his intention to form a coalition of countries ready to send instructors to Ukraine in the near future.

France is considering sending its instructors to Ukraine to speed up the training of Ukrainian army recruits, particularly in demining and equipment maintenance.