The United States will expand its training program for the Ukrainian military starting in January to train more soldiers and give them broader skills, as Kyiv braces for a new Russian offensive, the Pentagon announced Thursday, AFP reported.

The United States has limited training of Ukrainian forces to the weapons they supply to Kyiv, but will now hold joint exercises and train them to coordinate infantry maneuvers with artillery support, Defense Department spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

The program, which should start “around January,” “will train about 500 Ukrainian military personnel per month,” he said at a press conference.

“The idea is to provide them with in-depth collective training so that they can conduct joint military operations and maneuver on the battlefield,” he added. The training will be at the battalion level (several hundred soldiers) and will also include training for officers.

The training will take place in Germany and will add to the special training for reusable weapons delivered to Ukraine, as well as the more comprehensive training carried out by allies, especially the British military, for several months.

About 3,100 U.S. troops have already trained on the weapons they are supplying to Kyiv, and allies have trained another 12,000.

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, said on Thursday that he expects a new Russian attack on Kyiv in the first months of 2023, as fighting has been concentrated in eastern and southern Ukraine for months.