The US Pentagon plans to set up a command in the western German city of Wiesbaden to pull together the threads of its training and assistance program for the Ukrainian army, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The newspaper cited US military and administration officials as saying the mission would be led by a high-ranking US general.
The planned command suggests that Washington expects the threat of Russian aggression toward Ukraine and neighboring countries to be of long duration, current and former senior US officials said, according to the paper.
What would the new command do?
The newspaper said the new command would report to General Christopher G. Cavoli, the top US officer in Europe, and would execute decisions made by the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a 40-country coalition created by the Defense Department to help Ukraine.
Among other things, it would oversee the instruction of Ukrainian troops at training ranges in Germany in addition to coordinating technical support centers, such as those involved in repairing weapons provided by the US, in other countries, the report said.
The project is modeled on train-and-assist schemes instigated by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two decades, according to the Times.
Wiesbaden is the US Army’s headquarters in Europe.
The Times said the proposal had not yet been discussed by US officials in public partly because it was still not completely honed, but also because they did not want to give further fuel to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative that his war is against the US and NATO, not Ukraine.
The US has already provided billions in military assistance to Ukraine as it faces a monthslong invasion by Russian forces.
Source : Deutsche Well