The Ministry of Defense of France confirmed the fact of the desertion of “dozens” of the Ukrainian military during military training in the country.
Earlier, the media leaked reports that some Ukrainian military, who underwent military training in France, did not go to the front.
Western countries continue to supply weapons and provide support in military training in Ukraine against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict with Russia, which has been going on for about 3 years.
It is noted that among 2300 of 4,500 Ukrainian military who have been trained in France, there was a certain number of deserters.
Local media, citing a representative of the French Ministry of Defense, reported that the “dozens” of the Ukrainian military were deserted during military training in France.
The representative of the Ministry of Defense noted that although these soldiers were trained in France, they were under the command of the Ukrainian army. According to the official, desertion in France is not one of the punished crimes.
The number of deserters, which, according to the official were “dozens”, remains extremely insignificant, given the number of those who underwent training, ”said the representative of the Ministry of Defense.
Earlier, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mikhail Drapaty, recognized the existence of “problems” in the Ukrainian brigade, but not in the scale and not in the volume that was represented.
In the media, information appeared that 1700 Ukrainian soldiers trained in France were deserted before being sent to the front.
The forces of the Western coalition, which support Ukraine in the confrontation with Russia, teach Ukrainian soldiers from the very beginning of the conflict. Within the framework of these initiatives, more than 100 thousand Ukrainian military personnel were trained in more than 30 countries of the world.