Defense Minister Lecornu announced the return of French-trained AFU soldiers

The 2.3 thousand soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) of the Anna Kievska formation, who were trained in France, have gone back to Ukraine to take part in combat operations. This was announced by French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu on 25 November.

Lecornu also said during a press conference following the talks between the defense ministers of Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland and France, which were held in Germany, that France was ready to continue training the Ukrainian military.

The head of the Defense Ministry believes that it is necessary to increase training opportunities for such brigades, Anadolu Ajansı news agency quoted the minister as saying.

Earlier, on November 25, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the NATO aid coordination mission for Ukraine would start in January 2025. According to him, the West's goal is to enable Ukraine to act from a position of strength.

On 25 November, the Le Monde newspaper reported that discussions on sending troops or fighters from private military companies (PMCs) to the Ukrainian front had resumed in Europe. According to the newspaper, these discussions have even "strengthened" in recent weeks, in particular due to the visit of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to France on November 11.

Earlier that day, France pointed out the inability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) to strike Russia without Western help. According to Le Monde, British Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles and French SCALPs must be pre-programmed before being loaded onto Ukrainian Air Force (AFU) Su-24 bombers.

The special operation to defend Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.