France to send instructors to train Ukrainian military, says Syrskyi

Oleksandr Syrskyi announced this on May 27.

"I welcome the initiative of France to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen. I have already signed the documents that will allow the first French instructors to visit our training centres and get acquainted with their infrastructure and staff," the general wrote.

He expressed hope that other countries would follow France's example and join the project.

"I thanked Mr Minister for the friendly support of the French people and military and economic assistance to Ukraine to repel Russian military aggression," Syrskyi concluded.

Presence of NATO forces in Ukraine

On February 26, about 20 European leaders met in Paris to discuss the threats posed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. They were addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the deployment of Western ground troops to combat Russian aggression should not be ruled out in the future.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed that some NATO and EU member states are allegedly discussing the possibility of sending their troops to Ukraine after signing bilateral agreements with Kyiv.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of the Alliance stated that no general decision had been made to send troops to Ukraine, while Russia called the move a declaration of war.

On February 29, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that Western leaders should not rule out the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine.

On March 4, Macron said that he would not send troops to Ukraine in the near future, but opened a debate on the issue.

On March 5, Macron called on allies "not to be cowards" with regard to Ukraine and to step up. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius responded to his call.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the discussion provoked by French President Emmanuel Macron's words about the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would save Europe a lot of time in realizing that more needs to be done.

On March 11, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the support of Ukraine by NATO troops directly on its territory would not violate any international norms.

On May 14, it was reported that Sweden was open to sending troops to Ukraine if this proposal was made at the level of NATO member states.

On May 20, the Prime Minister of Estonia supported the sending of NATO instructors to train the Ukrainian military.