The Ukrainian brigade is described by The Times informant as one of the most powerful in the country’s military. When the training of the soldiers should have started is not clear from the newspaper’s information, nor how long the brigade should have been in Sweden, but the troops should have returned to Ukraine in May to get ready for the expected spring offensive.
The visit appears to have overlapped with the Swedish defense exercise Aurora 23, the largest of its kind in more than 30 years, which took place between 17 April and 11 May. A total of 26,000 Swedes participated in the exercise. 14 other nations were represented, including the United States and Great Britain.
From the newspaper’s data it is also not clear exactly how many Ukrainian soldiers were in Sweden, but according to SVT, which was reached by similar information, it should be between 3,000 and 5,000 men.
During the time in Sweden, the brigade must have practiced with Stridsfordon 90, the Swedish-made Archer artillery system and tanks of the Leopard 2 type, or Stridsvagn 122 as they are called in the Swedish defense. The weapons are all those that Sweden promised to deliver to Ukraine.
The Leopard 2 was donated as part of a larger European tank coalition in February. Modern tanks from the West have been described as central to Ukraine’s success in the upcoming offensive.
The Swedish Armed Forces do not want to comment on The Times’ information.
Sweden has previously participated in the training of Ukrainian soldiers, but this is the first time that it has reportedly taken place on Swedish soil. Among other things, 60 Swedish instructors participated when Ukrainian soldiers were trained in Great Britain last autumn. Instructors from several NATO countries also participated, including Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark.
In the past, Sweden has also promised to contribute personnel to train Ukrainian soldiers in Poland and Germany. Sweden has also started the training of Ukrainian demining soldiers in Lithuania.
