Global Courant 2023-05-10 22:07:35
Canada and Latvia will begin training Ukrainian soldiers on Latvian soil from next week, Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday.
“Under the direction of a Canadian lieutenant colonel, the training will instruct Ukrainian junior officers in combat responsibilities, the process of planning and commanding, maneuver coordination, intelligence reconnaissance, planning and execution,” said Anand of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
The training, which begins May 15, will continue alongside Canada’s training efforts under Operation Unifier, currently underway in Poland and the United Kingdom.
Latvian Defense Minister Ināra Mūrniece, who is visiting Ottawa, told reporters that Canada and Latvia are doing “huge work” to help train the Ukrainian army.
“I am very proud that Canada and Latvia have agreed on a joint leadership training program for Ukrainians that will help Ukrainians fight against the Russian occupation. In this effort…we are together,” she said.
Anand said the expansion of the training program reflects how “our world is getting darker and darker”.
“There seems to be no end to this war in the short term and we must continue to do what we can to help Ukraine in this time of need,” she said.
Helping Ukraine maintain its democracy and sovereignty is important to Canada and the world, she said, because it protects the international rules-based order that has kept the peace since World War II.
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Defense Minister Anita Anand says Canada will continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Canada has deployed about 80 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members to Poland, according to the Department of National Defense.
About 45 of those soldiers are combat engineers tasked with training Ukrainians in advanced engineering skills, reconnaissance and the use of explosives.
Another 25 CAF members train tank crews in the use of the Leopard 2 main battle tanks. The remaining ten CAF personnel teach Ukrainian soldiers skills and tactics to help them save lives in combat situations.
In the UK, approximately 170 Canadian Forces members train Ukrainians in frontline combat skills, first aid, tactics and the legalities of armed combat.
Build up brigade strength in Latvia
Nearly a year ago, at the NATO summit in Madrid, leaders of the Western military alliance ordered the conversion of battlegroups in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia into full battle brigades of 4,000 to 6,000 men each, depending on equipment availability.
According to two recent reports – one from the British House of Commons, the other from a Warsaw-based international affairs think-tank – it has proved difficult to do just that.
Anand said the work is progressing although it is still in its early stages.
“The planning that we’re doing and the subject of much of our discussion today has been, what are the stages we’re going to go through as we get to brigade level?” she said.
Anand said Chief of Defense Staff General Wayne Eyre is working in Brussels to secure commitments for the brigade.
“That is the first phase and that is the phase where we are making good progress, but it is still ongoing and we will continue to deliver on the firmness of those commitments as we go forward,” Anand said.
Once commitments are made by the 11 countries participating in the brigade, the next step will be to ensure the proper command and control structures are in place, Anand said. Once that’s done, she said, it’s time to bring those capabilities together physically on the ground.
Approximately 800 CAF members are deployed to Latvia, where Canada has served as a cadre nation for the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia since 2017.
“We are very happy to have Canada as a framework nation. Please believe me, I can assure you,” said Mūrniece.
Canada’s role in Latvia, Mūrniece said, has increased its visibility in the Baltic states and on NATO’s eastern flank.
“Yes, scaling up the (Enhanced Forward Presence) battlegroup to a combat-capable brigade, it’s a work in progress,” Mūrniece said. “But it is very clear that we have this goal and we are going step by step.”
