US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that Russia is sending large numbers of poorly trained and ill-equipped troops to the fighting in Ukraine.
On a visit to Estonia, Austin noted that NATO and other allied countries train Ukrainian soldiers to effectively use the West’s equipment, unlike Russia, which sends soldiers to the battlefront without training and without adequate military equipment.
The defense minister added that Sweden is training troops to use its CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, Germany is providing training to use Marders fighting vehicles and the US is offering training to use Bradley tanks and Stryker at bases in Germany.
Still, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, who accompanied Austin on the visit, said he expected faster progress to help Ukraine and bolster NATO defenses on its eastern flank, which should be agreed at the Atlantic Alliance summit. , which will take place in Vilnius. Lithuania) in July.
Pevkur said he hoped the European Union could supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine and that all countries supporting Kiev could allocate 100 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine.
Asked if Estonia and the other Baltic states could be “next” targets if Russia is not held in Ukraine, Pevkur said the Allies’ intention was “to avoid that scenario at all costs.
“Discouragement is a key word in the new regional defense plans to be approved in July (at the Vilnius summit)”explained Pevkur.
“That sends a signal to the Russians: don’t play with us”concluded the Minister of Defense of Estonia.
Source: DN
