EU Weighs Expanding Support Mission to Include Training Inside Ukraine

The European Union is edging closer to a landmark decision that could see Ukrainian soldiers trained directly on home soil, alongside an expanded package of assistance covering border security, veterans’ support, and cybersecurity cooperation.

The Gaze reports this, referring to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The proposal is being reviewed under two parallel strategic assessments – the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM), focused on strengthening Ukraine’s civilian security institutions, and the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM), which coordinates Europe’s military training efforts for Kyiv. 

EU member states are reportedly still discussing what security guarantees they could offer Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or the end of active hostilities.

The EUMAM review notes that three training centers have already been established in western Ukraine but are not operating at full capacity due to limited infrastructure and a shortage of qualified foreign instructors. 

The absence of a formal training mission inside Ukraine, it adds, has created logistical bottlenecks and forced Ukrainian personnel to travel far from the front lines for instruction.

The report also highlights that conducting exercises in EU countries under peaceful conditions limits opportunities for effective training with combat technologies such as drones and electronic warfare systems that are critical to Ukraine’s battlefield operations.

However, the document concedes that relocating parts – or the entirety of the EU training mission to Ukraine would only be feasible once a ceasefire or another form of truce is in place. 

Any such deployment would require close coordination with the United States or explicit security assurances from Washington.

Meanwhile, the EUAM review proposes broadening its mandate to include enhanced border control along Ukraine’s frontiers with Russia and Belarus, and potentially deploying EU personnel to monitor future lines of contact if peace arrangements are reached.

As The Gaze reported earlier, the Council of the European Union extended the mandate of the EUMAM Ukraine for the next two years and allocated €409 million for its support.