Ukrainian special-operations forces doubled in size while training with the US, top US special-ops commander says

Ukrainian special-operations forces doubled in size while training with the US, top US special-ops commander says
  • Since Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian troops have trained closely with the US military.

  • That includes Ukraine's special-operations forces, which have doubled in size over that period.

  • Since Moscow began its latest attack in February, those Ukrainians have wreaked havoc on the Russians

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    Three months into the war, the Ukrainian military has awed the world with its impressive defense against the invading Russian forces.


    Ukrainian special-operations forces have played a big part in that resistance. But to develop those skills, Ukraine's operators have been working hard for years and learning from the best.


    How the US helped Ukraine's commandos





    A US Army Green Beret does a close-quarters-battle drill with Romanian and Ukrainian special operators in Romania, May 6, 2021.Romanian army/Capt. Roxana Davidovits

    Since 2014, US special-operations forces have been training their Ukrainian counterparts on pretty much every skill set and mission set imaginable.


    The years-long effort by the US and its NATO allies to train their Ukrainian counterparts has created a solid military force with a robust non-commissioned corps. It also created a cadre of potential recruits for Ukrainian special-operations units, helping those units not only get better but bigger.

    "Our special-operations forces help develop and work with other allies to come into Ukraine and help build up the Ukrainian special-operations forces," Gen. Richard Clarke, the head of US Special Operations Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing in April.


    Since that training began eight years ago, those Ukrainian forces have "doubled in size," Clarke said.





    Ukrainian troops during special-operations training in November 2015.Andriy Ageev/Ukrainian Ministry of Defense

    The SOCOM boss acknowledged that the US effort to ..

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