Defense ministers of European Union states agreed to increase the number of Ukrainian military personnel trained under the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine (EUMAM) program, the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Aug. 30.
EUMAM, established in October 2022, aims to enhance the training of the Ukrainian military. The program has already trained approximately 60,000 Ukrainian service members, primarily in Germany and Poland.
The ministers decided to raise the target to 75,000 by training an additional 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of the year, according to Borrell.
Borrell said that the training will be adapted to the battlefield situation and conducted in coordination with Kyiv. He also announced the opening of a coordination center in Ukraine’s capital.
Borrell described EUMAM as the “most successful training mission the EU has ever launched.”
Politico and Die Welt reported on Aug. 27 that the EU is considering specific “political and operational conditions” under which it would send instructors to Ukraine.
The document notes that Ukraine requested in-country training due to logistical and cost considerations. However, some EU member nations fear that training on Ukrainian soil could escalate conflict with Russia.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
