EU plans to expand military training mission for Ukraine – Borrell
Josep Borrell. Photo: Kristin Olsson/TT News Agency via Reuters
The defense ministers of the EU countries in Brussels will consider increasing the number of Ukrainian service members undergoing training in the EUMAM Ukraine mission.
As Ukrinform writes, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said this in Brussels before an informal meeting of the EU Council of Defense Ministers started.
"The most important issue remains EU military support for Ukraine. Within this support, the training of Ukrainian service personnel plays an important role. So, we intend to discuss how to increase the volume of our training mission. The goal is to train about 60,000 soldiers. We will increase this goal, and I'll tell you today how much. But this is by far the most successful training mission ever undertaken by the European Union," Josep Borrell said.
Today, the ministers will discuss the possibility of opening a coordination center in Kyiv to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine's armed forces on these issues.
When journalists asked if EUMAM Ukraine would train Ukrainian service members in Ukraine, the EU's high representative stated that there is currently no agreement among member states.
"This issue is not on the agenda today (meetings – ed.). The EU intends to open a coordination center in Ukraine. Still, at the moment, there is no agreement on training the Ukrainian military on Ukraine's territory with the participation of European instructors," Josep Borrell said.
For reference:
Today, on August 29, informal gatherings of EU foreign affairs ministers are happening in Brussels.
The key topics of discussion will be:
- strengthening of military support to Ukraine from the EU and member states,
- strengthening of air defense capabilities,
- promotion of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU,
- attracting the broadest possible global support for the Peace Formula on the way to the second Peace Summit.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, also participates.
Today, there's an informal gathering of EU ministers in Brussels, which is known as the Gymnich format. Yesterday, the foreign affairs ministers of EU countries discussed crucial foreign policy matters, while today, the defense ministers will tackle security issues. The top priority for both meetings is to continue and enhance military aid to Ukraine in its battle against Russian aggression.
