The EU is expected to raise its training targets for Ukraine’s army from currently 60,000 to 75,000 by the end of the year, as ministers look into reviewing the mission’s mandate.
“We have trained 60,000 soldiers, and agreed on raising the target to 75,000 by end of year,” EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels on Friday (30 August).
“The war requires a constant adaptation to the modalities of the war. The training has to be shortened and adapted to the Ukrainian needs”, Borrell added.
Borrell spoke of the need to be “pragmatic” in delivering the training, as well as “making use of Ukrainian trainers and ensuring a stronger coordination with Ukraine and NATO.”
The EU’s military assistance mission for Ukraine (EUMAM) was launched in autumn 2022.
As Euractiv reported earlier, a draft of the strategic review of the mission’s mandate highlighted Kyiv’s concerns on the usefulness of the training.
A large part of the discussion around the mandate’s review focuses on the idea of moving part of the training into Ukrainian territory. Until now, the courses have taken place on EU territory, but Kyiv is pushing to move the training closer to Ukraine and the battlefield for logistic purposes.
In its draft review, the EU diplomatic service (EEAS) also listed all options to move the training – at least in part – to Ukraine.
An important debate on the matter is looming, as member states are widely divided.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s floating of the idea in the spring spurred backlash from several European countries, including Germany.
Lithuania sided with Paris in looking for a way to deliver training in Ukraine, but no official decision has been taken.
Talking to reporters before the meeting, the Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson said Stockholm was open to exploring the idea, saying “we don’t exclude that possibility.”
Changing EUMAM’s mandate to move the training in Ukraine requires unanimity from the 27 member states, which is expected to be a hurdle.
Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák questioned the effectiveness and purpose of the mission when arriving at the meeting in the morning, saying he “does not see much perspective” for the mission because “not the same number of trainees are present at the start and finish [of the training session]. So I think that a little bit of effectiveness may be lost.”
Budapest is also likely to oppose any such move, as officials have repeatedly voiced their opposition to military support to the war-torn country.
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