The 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team from the Mississippi Army National Guard took command of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine mission in Germany during a ceremony at Grafenwoehr on Jan. 5, 2024.. The soldiers replaced the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Arkansas National Guard. (Jarvis Mace/U.S. Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — A new battalion of Ukrainian soldiers began training Sunday at the U.S. Army’s training grounds in Grafenwoehr, an effort that coincides with the arrival of a new contingent of American soldiers to lead the initiative.
About 500 Ukrainian troops are taking part in the training, which will involve everything from combined-arms training at the squad level up to large-scale maneuvers that will culminate with a battalion force-on-force exercise, Col. Martin O’Donnell, U.S. Army Europe and Africa spokesman, said in a statement Saturday.
The Ukrainian unit will be the 19th battalion trained at U.S. ranges in Bavaria since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, he said. The Army has relied on National Guard units to carry out much of the day-to-day effort to bolster the fighting capabilities of the Ukrainian troops.
On Friday, the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team from the Mississippi Army National Guard took command of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine mission in Germany.
The Mississippi Guard soldiers replaced the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Arkansas National Guard, which has been responsible for mentoring Ukrainian forces for the past nine months. The 39th oversaw the training of about 7,500 troops during their deployment, which included instruction on a variety of weapons systems now being used on the frontlines.
Col. Michael Dykes, commander of the incoming 155th brigade, said his unit’s task is to do its part to help Ukraine make the necessary gains on the battlefield.
“It really just comes down to one word, which is ‘victory,’” he said during the Friday transfer of command ceremony in Grafenwoehr. “We are here to ensure the Ukrainian victory.”
O’Donnell said the Army’s training mission in Germany is one part of the international effort to give Ukrainian forces a boost. More than 116,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained at more than 80 locations around the world, he said.
The 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team from the Mississippi Army National Guard took command of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine mission in Germany during a ceremony at Grafenwoehr on Jan. 5, 2024.. The soldiers replaced the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Arkansas National Guard. (Jarvis Mace/U.S. Army)
It’s “just one example of our united and steadfast commitment to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s ongoing attacks, and consolidate and extend its battlefield gains,” O’Donnell said.
The new Guard brigade takes on the training mission at a challenging time for the Ukrainian army, which has been locked in a virtual stalemate with Russian forces for the past several months.
The war has taken a large toll on both sides. And as the fighting drags on, there are growing questions about the durability of western aid for Ukraine’s war effort, which is heavily dependent on the delivery of arms and ammunition from the United States and other NATO countries. Currently, funding disputes and policy disputes in Washington have put in jeopardy the U.S.’s ability to continue funding weapons and equipment for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Oleski Taran didn’t address such concerns during Friday’s ceremony in Grafenwoehr, saying that his country remains committed to the fight. He also highlighted the toll the war has taken on the invading Russian forces, which he said has resulted in “hundreds of thousands of dead Russian occupants.”
