The “Anne de kyiv” brigade, made up of Ukrainian soldiers trained in France, has been completing its training in recent days before leaving for the front.
A special cell, called “Task Force Champagne”, was set up by the French army to guide these soldiers.
Who is it made of? What are its missions? Elements of response.
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War in Ukraine: a never-ending conflict
They are somewhat special student trainers. In nine weeks of work, the French soldiers of “Task Force Champagne” attempted to give new combat skills to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers, often very inexperienced. These soldiers, who are preparing to go to the front, followed one of the last exercises on Wednesday during their stay in eastern France.
Based in Mourmelon-le-Grand (Marne), this brigade, called “Anne de kyiv” and fully equipped by Paris, was visited on Wednesday by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Jean-Noël Beam. “In the Great East, the training of the Anne of kyiv brigade ends, declared the latter on the social network The President of the Republic committed to this: our armies train and equip a Ukrainian brigade .“With the establishment of this “Champagne Task Force”, the minister boasts “a support model that only France implements“.
Military instructors and specialists
Last June, during the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron announced the implementation of a plan to train a brigade of Ukrainian troops. In total, 1,500 members of the Army are mobilized as part of this “Task Force Champagne” to supervise these soldiers. These include military instructors or specialists, but also personnel ensuring the security of the site or who come to support the missions of this entity.
The soldiers of “Task Force Champagne” are responsible for preparing the Ukrainians in several aspects. Managers are, for example, trained in unit coordination. Techniques related to the use of drones, anti-aircraft defense strategy or the handling of artillery are also instilled in soldiers depending on their assignments within the unit. The objective of the “Champagne Task Force”? Build a “operational unit which withstands the shock at the first encounter with its enemy“, according to the commander of this special cell, General François-Yves Le Roux, interviewed by AFP.
A “significant effort for the Army”
The organization of this mission is partly financed by European funds. France will provide elements of equipment on which they trained during their stay at the Mourmelon-le-Grand base. In particular, 128 troop transport vehicles, 18 Caesar cannons and 18 AMX-10 tanks will be sent to Ukraine. The donation of this equipment constitutes a “question of consistency” in terms of aid to Ukraine, according to Jean-Noël Barrot.
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs also pointed out “the important effort for the army” to set up such training. In total, kyiv says it requires help from Western partners for the training of 15 brigades in total. The “Task Force Champagne” should not immediately train new Ukrainian troops, but the tenant of the Quai d’Orsay says to himself “ready to be able to do so if the President of the Republic decides” again.
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