German general says Soviet tanks borrowed from museums to train Ukrainian troops on Russian booby-trap tactics – Reuters

Tanks, including those borrowed from museums, have been used in Germany to train Ukrainian troops on booby-trapping tactics used by Russian soldiers on the battlefield. Source: Reuters, citing German Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, commander of the EU training mission for Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda Details: Instructors from 17 countries have trained about 18,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Germany to operate high-tech tanks and precision air defence systems and have also passed on their skills to snipers, engineers, and paramedics.

The German military has also dug trench systems based on Russian standards and borrowed Soviet-era tanks from museums to provide practical experience at some of its training grounds.

"These (museum) systems are in use on the Russian side, and they sometimes plant booby traps in abandoned gear," said Marlow, head of the EU Special Training Command near Berlin. "Providing such vehicles in the training makes it easier to demonstrate where to be cautious to make sure that you don't trigger an explosion if you find them on the battlefield and open the door," he added.

The exercise command declined to reveal where the tanks had been borrowed from or how many were in use. For reference: The command is part of an EU military mission set up in 2022 to train Ukrainian troops to fight Russian invaders.

On Friday, the mission was extended for another two years. The extension of training assistance for the Ukrainian military is one of the provisions of a separate security agreement that Ukraine signed with the EU as a union in June 2024. Background: In August 2024, EU defence ministers resolved to keep the military drills for the Ukrainian soldiers close to Ukrainian borders rather than moving them into Ukrainian territory.

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