All news

Ukrainian general says 20% of country’s troops underwent training overseas

Viktor Nikolyuk noted that the average age of Ukrainians that are enlisted for service is rising

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Every fifth Ukrainian military serviceman has undergone training in foreign countries, said Major General Viktor Nikolyuk, who is in charge of training at the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

"If we analyze how many of them have been trained abroad and on the territory of our country, it is, let's say, 20% percent abroad, and the rest here," he said in an interview with Radio Liberty (designated by Russia as a foreign agent media outlet).

Nikolyuk also said the average age of Ukrainians that are enlisted for service is rising.

"As of now, unfortunately, given the losses, the age of the person that is mobilized has increased. Of course, this [means] certain difficulties in training," he said in describing a typical draftee.

On January 23, The Associated Press reported, citing a spokesman for the US Army Europe and Africa Command, that the US and about 30 of its partners have trained a total of 118,000 Ukrainian military personnel at sites across the world.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with Germany’s ARD television that about 880,000 people currently serve in the Ukrainian military. That’s up from February 2022, when the Ukrainian armed forces numbered about 260,000 people, of which 250,000 made up the ground forces.