Ukrainian Counter-Offensive Brigade, Fully Trained and Equipped by France, Prepares to Face Putin
Expected Deployment: Early December
Anne de Kiev Brigade.
That will be the name of the 155th brigade Kyiv created after passing a new mobilization order in April this year. When President Zelensky visited Paris for the D-Day celebrations in June, French President Macron promised to train Ukrainian soldiers. However, that was the last update on the training front — until now.
The French assembled a special task force of 1,500 soldiers from its ground forces to train Ukrainian troops in eastern France. Around 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers have undergone training in France, while another 2,200 were trained in Ukraine.
The French have fully equipped the Anne de Kiev brigade with their weapons. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, after visiting the training grounds in France, stated yesterday that the brigade will receive “armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery systems, trucks, situational awareness systems, and other essential equipment.”
Radio France Internationale provided additional details, stating that the brigade has been given “128 frontline armored vehicles, 18 Caesar cannons, more than 18 AMX-10 vehicles, 20 Milan anti-tank missile launchers, and 10 large TRM military trucks designed for support missions in difficult terrain.”
The Anne de Kiev brigade will be a mechanized unit capable of mounting highly mobile counter-offensives against the enemy.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian troops at the training grounds in Eastern France.
It is very interesting that France has assembled a special task force of 1,500 French troops to train 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers. I believe there is a strategic plan in place to continue training more Ukrainian troops on French soil and to familiarize them with French weapons.
Reports indicate that the brigade is expected to be deployed in early December, suggesting that the training is either nearing completion or has already ended. The timing of their arrival will provide a massive boost to the Ukrainian armed forces, as December is when Putin’s inner malice typically intensifies.
He will likely begin by targeting Ukrainian infrastructure with long-range missiles, aiming to plunge the country into darkness. This pattern will continue through December and January. By late January, he will order a massive counter-offensive to capture Ukrainian territory. This strategy was seen in 2023 (Vuhledar) and repeated in 2024 (Avdiivka). He needs something significant to showcase on February 24, the anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine.
I have no doubt that he will attempt to conserve manpower through November and December, only to expend his cannon fodder by the end of January 2025.
The arrival of the Anne de Kiev brigade will be a significant morale booster for Ukraine in December.
This may be the first time a Western nation has both fully trained and fully equipped Ukrainian soldiers as an entire brigade. Until now, efforts have been more piecemeal — Western nations would train Ukrainian soldiers, send weapons, and Ukraine would then have to figure out how to equip them on the field.
While this approach made sense due to the diverse sources of military aid, it is equally important for the “big four” — the United States, France, Germany, and Britain, with their advanced weapons and training capacity — to help build complete Ukrainian brigades.
A fully mechanized brigade can cost between $1 billion and $3 billion, depending on the equipment it carries. An air-defense brigade might range from $2 billion to $3 billion, while an electronic warfare brigade would cost slightly less. On average, we can estimate around $3 billion for each brigade.
If the “big four” nations (the United States, France, Germany, and Britain) commit to train and equip just one brigade each every six months, Ukraine could receive up to eight brigades within 12 months. For each country, this would amount to a total cost of approximately $6 billion. However, the training capacity itself would serve as a powerful deterrent to Putin’s war plans.
Given the current state of the Russian economy, Putin would have no way of matching the firepower that would be heading Ukraine’s way. Victory is not achieved solely on the battlefield — it is also about building up deterrence. By showcasing our strength, we weaken the enemy’s will to fight, and that’s how wars are won before they even begin.
For this reason, French President Macron deserves immense credit for creating the 1,500-strong special task force to train Ukrainian troops. I hope he continues to train more Ukrainian soldiers and sends fully equipped brigades to Ukraine every six months.
If funding becomes an issue, he could tap into European funds set aside for Ukraine or offer soft loans to Ukraine. The key is to be creative with funding but ensure the training grounds remain active until the war is won.
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