SZCZECIN, Poland (Reuters) - U.S. Army Europe commander Ben Hodges said on Wednesday the U.S. army will provide training to Ukrainian troops battling Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east.

The training mission will start in March, with one battalion of U.S. soldiers training three Ukrainian battalions, Hodges said during a visit to a NATO base at Szczecin in north-west Poland.

“We will train them in security tasks, medical (tasks), how to operate in an environment where the Russians are jamming (communications) and how to protect (themselves) from Russian and rebel artillery,” he said.