Berlin plans to integrate Ukrainian military veterans into German Armed Forces academies to teach its own warfighters, providing combat experience that training simulations cannot imitate.
The move, revealed by German Army Inspector Lt. Gen. Christian Freuding, will see Ukrainian servicemembers sharing lessons with officers and non-commissioned officers, with practical exercises led by the veterans.
“We will never be able to replicate the experience of reality. Therefore, it’s important to me that the experiences of Ukrainians are incorporated much more strongly into our training,” Freuding told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
‘Not a Blueprint’
Although Ukrainian forces have gained continuous frontline experience since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Freuding stressed that the conflict should not be seen as “a blueprint” for a potential NATO-Russia war.
“I believe a Russian war against NATO forces would unfold completely differently than the war against Ukraine,” he said.
“NATO’s capabilities, for example, to operate deep into the battlefield with ground forces, but also in the air, sea, and cyber domains, are entirely different from those of the Ukrainians, who are fighting with impressive bravery.”
Germany has already hosted Ukrainian recruits for training on tanks, air defense systems, and drones through the European Union’s Special Training Command.
Courses under this initiative, shortened to six weeks for wartime conditions, aim to deploy soldiers faster in response to the nearly four-year conflict on NATO’s eastern flank.
