Up to 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in different European member states as a part of the assistance mission.
The European Union has ramped up its support to Ukraine by launching a military assistance mission for Ukrainian troops, more than eight months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday that this mission is a direct response to Ukraine’s request for such support and said that “up to 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in different European member states” as a part of the mission.“It is going to be a big effort in order to renew, increase, improve the capacities of the Ukrainian army,” Borrell said, adding that it would be operational in less than three months.
The mission will be led by Frenchman Vice Admiral Hervé Bléjean, and EU defence ministers also agreed to allot a fund worth 16 million euros ($16.5m) under the European Peace Facility (EPF) – an EU financial instrument to prevent conflicts and build peace – to support the mission for 24 months.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the EU’s decision to establish the training mission for Ukraine’s armed forces and told reporters in Brussels that it would complement what NATO countries already do.
“But it is important we provide more training because Ukrainians are fighting a bloody battle which is very challenging,” he told reporters at an EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels.Harry Nedelcu, geopolitics director at Rasmussen Global leading its Ukraine Advisory Service, told Al Jazeera that while at first glance one might be tempted to point out that this military training makes little sense since Ukraine has the most “battle-hardened” army in Europe right now, it is important not to dismiss the EU’s support.“If the EU is going to particularly focus on training new recruits and relieve Ukraine of having to train them in the midst of an ongoing war and focus its resources on the front line, then the EU’s support adds value,” he said.
“But it is also important to note that this military training mission is actually coming against the background of some EU member states – like France and Germany – under-delivering in terms of arms delivery. This is what Ukraine probably needs much more right now, apart from the training,” he said.
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