EU training of Ukrainian forces looms
The German and Spanish defense ministers on Tuesday announced plans to train thousands of Ukrainian military personnel under the European Union (EU) program to help support kyiv’s response to Russia. The EU has launched the largest military training mission in its history, which aims to educate and train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in different member states. “In less than three months, this mission will be operational. This is a record time for Europeans.underlined the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
Germany plans to train 5,000 military personnel in “a wide range of skills”announced German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. His Spanish counterpart, Margarita Robles, said his country would train 400 Ukrainian soldiers every two months, or 2,400 a year, in Toledo. France had announced in October the training of 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers on its territory.
The main mission center will be located in Poland and a secondary headquarters will be set up in Germany. The mission is planned for an initial period of two years and is expected to cost around 60 million euros per year. It will be financed by the European Peace Facility (EFF) and European ministers are due to examine the state of its finances on Tuesday. Mr. Borrell recalled that “3.1 of the 5.7 billion of its endowment for seven years were mobilized for the supply of armaments to kyiv”. The funds are used to reimburse member states for armaments taken from their stocks and supplied to Ukraine.
The military support provided by the European Union to Ukraine is estimated at 8 billion euros, between EPF funding and bilateral arms supplies, stressed Josep Borrell. This amount is equivalent to 45% of the assistance provided by the United States. Responsible for carrying out interventions to evacuate European nationals caught in a conflict, the European force will have to be able to engage in combat missions. She must be “fully operational in 2023”announced Josep Borrell.