German army deepens Ukraine defence training link as Bundeswehr overhaul accelerates

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German army deepens Ukraine defence training

Highlights

Germany’s defence ministry, with a budget exceeding 700 billion euros over five years, is training dozens of combat-experienced Ukrainian troops on German soil in drone and counter-drone operations.
Bundeswehr chief Christian Freuding states Ukraine’s 800,000-strong force is directly shaping Germany’s military procurement, organization, and operational doctrine as Berlin accelerates reforms.
Germany is reinforcing its NATO commitment by planning to station a 5,000-strong brigade in Lithuania amid ongoing uncertainty regarding U.S. land-force posture in Europe.

Ukraine expertise feeds Bundeswehr reforms

As reported by the Financial Times, German army chief Christian Freuding says Ukraine’s armed forces are proving essential to Europe’s security and to Germany’s effort to rebuild its military capabilities.

Freuding says Ukrainian troops are not only the most combat-experienced forces in Europe but also among the strongest in scale, citing an 800,000-strong force. He says lessons from the war must influence how Germany fights, organises itself, procures equipment and arms its forces.

Germany’s defence ministry, backed by an expanded budget of more than 700 billion euros over the next five years, strikes a deal with Kyiv this year to bring experienced Ukrainian troops to Germany for practical instruction. Several dozen soldiers travel to German training grounds in recent months to share expertise in drone operations and defence against unmanned systems, an exchange Freuding describes as extremely valuable.

He says it remains difficult to judge whether Ukraine has fully turned the tide in the conflict, but adds that positive momentum exists. In his view, Ukraine maintains air defences despite gaps and is able to damage Russia’s war machine through deep strikes on energy, military and logistical targets.

Security shift reshapes Germany’s role

The war in Ukraine is also transforming Germany’s strategic posture and its view of the Bundeswehr. Freuding says Germany’s strategic culture is changing, pointing to plans to station a 5,000-strong brigade in Lithuania as clear evidence of Berlin’s commitment to Nato’s eastern flank.

Freuding, who oversaw German military aid to Ukraine from 2022 to 2025 before becoming head of the army in October last year, is emerging as a central link between Berlin and Kyiv. His appointment is widely seen as reflecting both Ukraine’s importance to Germany’s military overhaul and his close ties to defence minister Boris Pistorius.

At the same time, German commanders are confronting uncertainty over Washington’s military posture in Europe. Freuding says he has no confirmation of land-force changes after the U.S. tells European Nato allies it will remove key assets from the alliance’s Force Model, but he insists he has no doubts that the transatlantic alliance will function in the event of an attack.

In our earlier article on U.S.-EU trade talks and the push to cut non-tariff barriers, we outlined how Washington was pressing Brussels to publish concrete commitments to ease import rules ahead of the anniversary of their tariff deal. We also noted that despite proposed additional tariff cuts on EU exports, disagreements over standards and market access continued to strain the broader relationship and kept trade balances at the center of negotiations.

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