EU ministers in Prague will probably support the plan to establish a training mission for Ukrainians
Update: 27/08/2022 10:00
Issued by: 27/08/2022, 10:00
Brussels/Prague – During an informal meeting in Prague next week, the ministers of defense of the member countries of the European Union will probably support the creation of an EU training mission for the Ukrainian army at the political level, but a detailed idea of its form has not yet been agreed upon. This follows from ČTK information from diplomatic sources. According to the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, the initiative to support the Ukrainian army should be the “strongest” mission of the twenty-seventh.
On the plan to launch a joint mission for Ukrainian forces Borrell first armed armed Monday, but did not provide details. He recalled that the EU supported or supports the army of some African countries and could therefore train soldiers from Ukraine, while such training would be recognized “in neighboring countries”. He added that the matter would be “politically discussed” in Prague and expressed the wish that the plan be approved.
According to ČTK sources, political support for the idea of such an EU training mission is expected at the informal ministerial council on Monday and Tuesday in Prague. There should be an offer from Kyiv that the Union is ready to launch the mission.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov will also take part in the talks in Prague. If it were possible to agree on the details with Ukrainian consent, according to information from diplomatic sources, the training mission could begin at the beginning of the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU, i.e. before the end of the year.
At the same time, the Union program was created with regard to the activities of NATO and other partners. A number of European countries are already participating in the training of Ukrainian soldiers in connection with the supply of modern military equipment. Britain guests a more extensive training mission in which some EU states also participate. The British Army states that up to 10,000 Ukrainians could go through the program.
The discussion about the EU mission comes after six months of Ukrainian defense against a Russian offensive and at a time when there is talk that the conflict may be deadlocked. The top representatives of the countries of the European bloc declare that they will support Ukraine as long as it is needed, however, the military aid promised to the defending country is so far from their side weaker compared to Britain, he does not talk about aid flowing from the United States.
According to Borrell, given the unceasing fighting, it is appropriate to consider supporting Ukraine also through “training and assistance with army organizations”. “It should be the EU’s strongest training mission because we are in the most serious situation,” said the head of EU diplomacy on Wednesday. According to him, some training activities that are independently provided by individual EU member states could come under the EU mission.
Union diplomacy did not want to go into more details before the Prague meeting of the ministers. European External Action Service spokeswoman Nabila Massrali only told ČTK that Ukraine is calling for various forms of support and that the EU is evaluating how to help as effectively as possible. even the Czech Ministry of Defense did not want to supplement the current plans, which intends to publish information about the topics of the upcoming ministerial meeting just before it begins.