France leads mission to train Ukrainian soldiers, Germany excluded
France announced plans to organize a training mission for Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine, as reported by the German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" on Sunday. Germany was not among the invited countries; however, Poland, several other European countries, and the USA received invitations.
French President Emmanuel Macron aims to reach an agreement within a few days to send Western military instructors to conflict areas in Ukraine, "Welt am Sonntag" highlighted. Journalists noted that Thierry Burkhard, Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, sent a letter last week to the United States and about ten European countries inviting them to participate in the training mission in Ukraine as part of the "multinational coalition of the willing." The invited countries included Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and the Baltic countries - Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
Germany left out
"Welt am Sonntag" pointed out that France's invitation bypassed Germany's Ministry of Defense. According to the newspaper, the federal government has repeatedly clarified that German soldiers will not participate in the training mission. It was also highlighted that "the Americans did the same thing already at an early stage, yet they still received an invitation letter."
On Friday, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated that the United States does not want to send its soldiers to Ukraine. Over the weekend, the French President announced that several countries had accepted the invitation.
Risk of conflict escalation
The German newspaper noted that the governments of Germany, Italy, and Spain fear that training in Ukraine could significantly increase the risk of conflict escalation and pose a threat of war between the West and Russia. "However, in EU diplomatic circles, it was also mentioned that - from a military point of view - there are good reasons to train Ukrainian soldiers in their own country. The training would then be better suited to the needs of these soldiers, and they would not have to leave their country," the newspaper reads.
