EU discusses EU military mission in Ukraine (video)

Last week in EU discussed the plan for a European military mission in Ukraine and made a decision.

For the first time, European foreign and defense ministers are meeting to discuss a possible European mission to train soldiers directly in Ukraine, Welt am Sonntag reports, citing sources in Brussels.

The basis for the talks is the document “Strategic Review of the EU Training Mission in Ukraine”, prepared by the European External Action Service. The document, which the publication has seen, states that Kyiv plans to form ten new infantry brigades. Some 150,000 recruits are to undergo training. The document states:

“Ukraine's structural weaknesses compared to Russia in terms of personnel supply make high-quality training and equipment particularly important.”

The European Service does not make recommendations regarding the need to train soldiers specifically in Ukraine, but the advantages of this option are noted in the document. Brussels criticizes lack of connection with real conditions in training Ukrainian soldiers in EU territorybased on Western standards in peacetime. Upon returning to Ukraine, soldiers must undergo new training in the field.

The document critically notes that when training in the EU, Ukrainian troops are absent from Ukraine for too long and cannot participate in combat operations. They also do not receive training on the Soviet types of weapons that are mainly used in Ukraine.

The document proposes training soldiers in special centers that will be located far from the battlefield, for example, in northwestern Ukraine. Other options are not excluded – for example, studying in countries located near the Ukrainian border.

The European External Action Service points to the critical overall situation, which contains potential threats to EU troops if they were to appear on Ukrainian territory. The document notes:

“The fact that Russian ballistic missiles and drones could reach anywhere in Ukraine would lead to the highest level of security threat to EU military personnel.”

Russia could view soldiers from EU countries as “actively participating in the conflict” of the military, which could lead to “unforeseen kinetic reactions.” This includes “the threat of drone and missile attacks from the Sea of ​​Azov, from Russia and Belarus, as well as grenade explosions, sabotage and cyber attacks.” The document calls for “robust evacuation plans” for soldiers who will participate in the mission.

It has become known that the EU will open a center for coordinating the training of Ukrainian military personnel in Kyiv. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, stated this:

“I proposed – and the ministers agreed – to create a small coordination centre in Kyiv, which would allow for direct coordination on matters of the training mission.”

According to Borrell, writes bb.lv, this will make the work more efficient. However, the diplomat stressed that the center will not become a new mission, but only a coordination point. He noted that The EU mission has already trained 60 thousand Ukrainian military personnel, and by the end of the year this figure will increase to 75 thousand soldiers.

Earlier, Borrell said that The EU will direct the next tranche of profits from frozen Russian assets to military aid to Ukraine by March 2025 – the funds will go to strengthening the Ukrainian defense industry.

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