The United States Is Expanding Ukraine's Military Exercise In Germany, Bekali Manuver Joint Weapons

JAKARTA - The United States military announced on Thursday it would expand wartime training in Germany for Ukrainian military personnel fighting the Russian invasion, focusing on joint maneuvers and joint weapons operations.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the training of about 500 Ukrainians over a month would begin in January, after more than 15 thousand Ukrainian troops had been trained by Washington and its allies since April.

The push for new training will be above efforts to teach Ukraine to operate billions of dollars worth of US special military equipment, which the United States and its NATO allies have provided since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

"The training of joint weapons maneuvers is the next logical step in our ongoing training efforts," Brigadier General Ryder said, referring to training on how to attack enemies with many capabilities at once.

The 7th Army Training Command headquartered in Grafenwoehr, Germany will carry out initiatives in the US region of Germany, the Pentagon said.

Brigadier General Ryder said the focus of training would be on using existing systems in the field rather than weapons that could be delivered in the future.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the United States was finalizing plans to offer the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, one of the most advanced systems and requiring months of training.

Ukraine has asked its Western partners to send air defenses, including the US-made Patriot system, to protect it from heavy Russian missile bombings, including against its energy infrastructure.