American newspaper: Some NATO countries consider sending military guides to Ukraine

(Dan Tri) – Some NATO countries are said to be publicly discussing scenarios of sending military experts or contractors to Ukraine to support training and weapons maintenance for the Ukrainian army.

NATO soldiers during an exercise in Poland (Illustration photo: AFP).

The New York Times, citing knowledgeable sources, reported on May 16 that Ukraine has asked the US and other allies to help train 150,000 soldiers to speed up deployment to the front line.

US military sources mentioned in the article said that moving training activities to Ukraine will help US trainers quickly gather information about changes taking place on the Ukrainian front, including:

However, the US and its allies remain hesitant to this idea because an attack (by Russia) on their trainers in Ukraine could lead to invoking NATO’s collective defense clause, as well as

The New York Times quoted an anonymous official as saying that one of the locations being considered for training activities inside Ukraine is Lviv province in the western part of the country.

Meanwhile, according to many Western officials, it is still possible to train large numbers of Ukrainian soldiers at barracks in Germany and Poland as currently, but that will require huge logistics.

The source also said: `Other NATO allies, including Britain, Germany and France, are working with defense contractors in Ukraine to help build and repair weapons systems near combat zones.

According to US officials and former officials, the White House is reviewing the ban on US defense contractors entering Ukraine.

The US and its allies have not yet commented on the above information.

The West has continuously provided aid to Ukraine since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.

Over the past two years, these countries have transferred to Ukraine about 800 tanks, 3,500 armored vehicles, 270 multiple rocket systems, 130 aircraft, helicopters and more than 30,000 drones, 290,000 anti-tank weapons.

French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly stated that the West does not rule out the option of sending troops to support Ukraine.

The US, UK and Germany are still inclined to continue supporting military equipment and training for the Ukrainian army as currently due to concerns that sending troops into Ukraine will lead to a direct conflict with Russia.