EU defence ministers have agreed to increase the training target for Ukrainian soldiers to 75,000 by the end of the year, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Friday.
EU defence ministers met in Brussels to discuss the bloc’s ongoing operation to train Ukrainian soldiers to defend their country against a full-scale Russian invasion.
Borrell described the training efforts at a press conference as “the most successful training mission ever carried out by the European Union.”
Trainings are currently taking place in Germany and Poland. Borrell said the EU has now trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of summer 2024. The new training target is an increase of 15,000.
EU defence ministers also discussed the extension of the mission until 2026. A decision on this is still pending.
There was also talk of a plan to move some EU training activities within Ukraine, but Borrell said no agreement had yet been reached on this.
The top EU diplomat said it had instead been decided to hold the training “as close to Ukraine as possible, but not on Ukrainian territory.” A small team of “mainly military” officials will coordinate the training from Kiev, he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron, backed by Lithuania, indicated that he is in favor of training Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine. A number of EU countries, including Germany, are concerned about such a move.
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said on Friday he supports the idea.
The meeting of the defense ministers was informal in nature, so no official decisions were expected.
The conditions that are set for Western weapons supplied to Ukraine, so that they cannot be used to attack targets in Russia, are also discussed.
Pevkur said such restrictions for Ukraine were like fighting “with only one hand.” Borrell called the fear that lifting such conditions would mean going to war with Russia “ridiculous.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday strongly urged the EU to accelerate the delivery of ammunition and air defense systems, including the US-made Patriots.
The Netherlands promised to quickly build a Patriot system for Ukraine, but Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans declined to give a timetable for its delivery, citing security concerns.
