Ukrainian soldiers from the Anna of Kyiv Brigade of Ukraine's Armed Forces have completed a training course in France. [Anna of Kyiv was a princess of Kyivan Rus who became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I - ed.

The approaching return to Ukraine of the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, after more than two months of intense military training in eastern and southern France, comes at another critical juncture in the almost three-year war.

Around 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers are training in France's eastern Marne region, where German and French armies battled each other during World War I.

France's "Champagne" task force focuses on advanced combat tactics, trench warfare and coordination with artillery and tanks.

The scene could be 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away in Ukraine's Donbas region, but instead some 2,000 Ukrainian conscripts and veterans are training in the muddy fields of France's eastern Marne region, where French and German armies once hammered each other during World War 1.