Estonia trains 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the national broadcaster ERR.
"A thousand Ukrainian soldiers were trained in Estonia. All training was organized in four groups. The Defense Forces in cooperation with the Kaitseliit (Volunteer Self-Defense Forces - ed.) made the main contribution to the first two, namely individual and professional training," said Colonel Mart Vendla, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces.
According to him, the feedback on the results of the training is positive. Vendla added that snipers are also being trained in Estonia.
Colonel Viktor Kalnitski, Head of the Training Department of the General Staff of the Estonian Army, said that the program includes training in four areas: individual, specialized training, group work and command training. Estonian instructors are involved in the first two. "For example, we trained medics and taught Ukrainians how to use FH-70 guns," said Kalnitski. At the same time, the trained Ukrainian artillerymen are already at the front line and, according to feedback, are working successfully and professionally.
Kalnitski added that the training for the Ukrainian military did not interfere with the planned training of the Estonian armed forces. In addition, the experience from these programs will be analyzed and used to improve the training of the Estonian military.
Colonel Kalnitski also recalled that Estonia had been training the Ukrainian military even before Russia's full-scale aggression in Ukraine: The Academy of the Defense Forces conducted English language courses, trained medics, and Ukrainian officers studied at the Baltic Defense College.
The training of Ukrainians is partly funded by the Estonian budget and partly by the EU.
As Ukrinform reported last week, Latvian Defense Minister Inara Murniece said that the Baltic country would continue training Ukrainian military, and that it intends to train twice as many specialists as in 2022, which will amount to about 3,000 servicemen.
