General Mark Milley, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, announced the beginning of military training of Ukrainian forces to confront the Russian military. According to him, this training course will take place in Germany and about 500 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in this course.

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): The Associated Press reported on Sunday night that the purpose of this training is to return a battalion of 500 soldiers to the battlefield to fight against the Russians in the next five to eight weeks.
 
According to the report, General Milley, who plans to visit Germany's Grafenwoehr training area on Monday, said that the troops under training left Ukraine a few days ago.
 
He added that in Germany there is a complete collection of weapons and equipment for their use. So far, the Pentagon has refused to announce the exact start date of the training.
 
Combined arms training is aimed at upskilling Ukrainian forces so that they are better prepared to launch an offensive or counter any escalation of Russian attacks. They will learn how to better move and coordinate their units, both companies and battalions, using artillery, armored equipment and combined ground forces.
 
He added: "This support is very important for Ukraine to be able to defend itself. And we hope to be able to do this in the short term."
 
He emphasized that the goal is to deliver weapons and equipment to Ukraine so that the newly trained forces can use them before spring.
 
The training program comes as Ukrainian forces face heavy fighting in eastern Donetsk province, where the Russian military claims control of the small town of Soledar salt mine. Ukraine insists that its forces are still fighting in that area. If Moscow forces take control of Soledar, they will have an opportunity to move closer to the larger city of Bakhmut, where fighting has been going on for months.
 
Russia also carried out a large barrage of missile attacks on Saturday, including in Kiev, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The number of people killed in a residential building due to these attacks increased to 30 people.
 
Milley said he wants to make sure the training is on track and if anything else is needed, as well as making sure the training matches well with the delivery of the equipment.
 
The program will include classroom instruction and fieldwork, beginning with small units and gradually growing to include larger units. It then culminates in a more complex combat exercise that brings together an entire battalion and a headquarters unit.
 
The U.S. focus so far has been on meeting the immediate needs of Ukraine's forces on the battlefield, particularly on how to use the vast array of Western weapon systems flowing into the country.
 
The U.S. has already trained more than 3,100 Ukrainian soldiers on how to use and maintain weapons and other equipment, including howitzers, armored vehicles and the High Mobility Artillery Missile System, known as HIMARS. Other countries are also training on the weapons they offer.
 
Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said last month that the plan is for them to receive an advanced level of collective training so they can conduct effective combined arms operations and maneuver on the battlefield.
 
Milley said the U.S. was offering this type of training there before the Russian invasion last year. But when the war started, the American National Guard and special operations forces that were training inside Ukraine all left the country. The new program, run by the U.S. Army's 7th Europe-Africa Command, is a continuation of what they were doing before the invasion.