A France-trained force aims to strengthen Ukraine's defenses at a
critical point in war
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 [November 15, 2024]
By JOHN LEICESTER
A FRENCH MILITARY BASE, France (AP) — A French military task force with
a festive name — “Champagne” — is wrapping up a mission that's no party:
training a whole new brigade of several thousand Ukrainian troops who
will be joining the fight against Russia's invasion armed with
France-supplied tanks, artillery canons and other heavy weaponry.
The approaching return to Ukraine of the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, after
more than two months of intense military training in eastern and
southern France, comes at another critical juncture in the almost
three-year war.
Russian forces are driving westward in an effort to capture all of
Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. They've been bolstered by up to 12,000
North Korean troops that have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk border
region to help beat back Ukrainian forces there, according to U.S.,
South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments.
The reelection of Donald Trump is also keeping Ukraine and its allies
guessing about the impact he'll have as U.S. president on the war's
future trajectory, following his campaign pledges to swiftly end the
fighting and suggestions that Kyiv should cede territory to Moscow in
return for peace.
When deployed, the French-trained and -equipped brigade named after a
Kyiv princess who became a queen of France could prove to be a
formidable force on the battlefields. It will eventually be made up of
4,500 troops, formed of infantry battalions, plus engineers, artillery
teams and other specialists, French authorities have previously said.
The more than 2,000 soldiers who have been training in France are being
put through final paces before their return to Ukraine.
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The majority of them were recently mobilized and previously had just
a few weeks of basic training before their arrival in France in
September, the French military says. The Ukrainian military is also
training other troops for the brigade back in Ukraine, according to
French authorities.
The French military dedicated around 1,500 of its own soldiers to
the “Champagne” task force that has been teaching the Ukrainians how
to fight effectively together and how to use and maintain their
France-supplied weaponry.
The French military says the brigade's arsenal will include 18 AMX
10 light tanks, 18 truck-mounted Caesar artillery pieces, 128
armored troop carriers, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems,
plus other weaponry and equipment.
With observation drones buzzing overhead and amid clouds of smoke
and bursts of gunfire and explosions, the Ukrainian soldiers
conducted exercises this week at a French military training camp,
showing how they have learned to defend and storm a complex of
trenches like those on the battlefronts in Ukraine.
The French military wouldn't allow visiting journalists to interview
the Ukrainians. French officers involved in the training said the
troops are now better prepared for combat that they'll likely
experience in months ahead.
“They have improved a lot," said Col. Paul. The French military
withheld his last name, citing security reasons.
“Now they are able to fight, they are able to maneuver," he said.
"They are able to use the different specialists and to use the
different equipment they will have on the battlefield.”
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