Judging by what we’ve seen by the US Army in Afghanistan and elsewhere, it’s not looking good for Ukrainian troops.
“I was referring to with — being with and talking with the Ukrainian troops who are in Poland,” he added.
When asked about Biden’s comments, a White House official told Politico that US troops are “interacting” with Ukrainian soldiers in Poland. “There are Ukrainian soldiers in Poland interacting on a regular basis with US troops, and that’s what the President was referring to,” the official said.
Since 2014, the US has trained Ukrainian forces, both openly and covertly. But since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, it hasn’t been clear if any training programs were still taking place. If the US is training Ukrainian troops now, it means they are being trained to kill Russian soldiers in the current conflict.
Before Russia’s invasion, the US pulled National Guard troops out of Ukraine and reportedly ordered CIA paramilitaries to leave the country. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reportedly told House lawmakers in February that the Biden administration was considering training Ukrainian forces remotely.