Ukrainian forces to train on Polish tanks in days says Duda's aide

Ukrainian officers will be trained to use Polish tanks within the coming days, the head of Polish President Andrzej Duda's Foreign Policy Bureau has said.

In a Saturday interview with private broadcaster TVN 24, Marcin Przydacz was asked about earlier statements of a Polish deputy foreign minister, Pawel Jablonski, who said that Poland still believes it will be able to convince its German partners to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after no decision on the matter was reached at a Friday meeting of allies at Germany's Ramstein Air Base.

Jablonski also said that Poland was ready "to take non-standard actions to ensure that Germany decides to transfer Leopards to Ukraine."

Commenting on Jablonski's words, Przydacz told TVN 24 that the training of Ukrainian officers may be such a non-standard action.

"This will happen in the near future. Ukrainian officers and non-commissioned officers will be trained on Polish tanks, but also on tanks of our other partners, because there is no time to spare," he said.

He added that in line with a Saturday announcement of the Polish defence minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, which followed the Ramstein talks, Poland would provide Ukraine with additional Soviet-made T-72 tanks and some infantry vehicles.

But Przydacz argued that "with a Russian offensive approaching it will happen sooner rather than later."

"I assume that it will be in a matter of days, not months," he said.