EU to Extend Mission Training Ukrainian Soldiers for Next Two Years

The European Union is to continue training the Ukrainian military for the next two years. This was stated by the Head of European Diplomacy, Josep Borrell, at a press conference following a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union on 14 October, Monday.

According to him, the issue was discussed at the level of EU foreign ministers. Currently, the Ukrainian army ‘is under great pressure along the entire frontline’, which has become greater than before the beginning of this summer.

‘We must provide the Ukrainian armed forces with more capabilities and increase our training mission. We will extend the mandate of the EUMAM mission for the next two years,’ Borrell said and expressed hope for a consensus on this decision in the Council of the European Union.

Josep Borrell also touched upon the issue of blocking the European Peace Fund, which is used to compensate EU member states for military assistance provided to Ukraine. According to Borrell, the EU has ‘almost achieved’ the unblocking, but at the same time, the official could not announce a specific decision. Borrell promised that he would visit Ukraine after the ‘necessary decision’ is made, and this will happen before the end of his mandate.

EUMAM was established in October 2022 to assist in the training of Ukrainian military personnel. Within the framework of EUMAM, training takes place mainly in Poland and Germany. In total, there is currently a coalition of 32 partner states that are organisationally part of two military assistance missions to Ukraine. These are the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine (SAG-U) and the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM).