France has trained 5,200 Ukrainian soldiers so far: Defense minister

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – France to date has trained 5,200 Ukrainian soldiers to push back the Russian war, the French defense minister announced on Wednesday.

"France's support for Ukraine continues unabated," Sebastien Lecornu wrote on Twitter. "Around 5,200 soldiers have been trained so far, including 1,600 in Poland."

Lecornu added that this number will reach 7,000 by the end of the year.

France's aim is to help Ukrainian soldiers properly use and maintain certain equipment such as SAMP/T air defense systems and AMX 10-RC light battle tanks, he explained, as the war recently passed its 500-day mark since Russia launched it in February 2022.