European Union Foreign Ministers have given the green light at their meeting in Luxembourg to a mission to train around 15,000 Ukrainian troops. Besides signing off on establishing the Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine, they also approved a further €500 million ($486Mln) in European Peace Facility funding for Ukraine. The off-budget fund reimburses EU member states for arms delivered to Ukraine.
"The aim of the mission is to contribute to enhancing the military capability of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to effectively conduct military operations," stated the European Council in its press release, adding:
"In response to Ukraine’s request for military support, EUMAM Ukraine will provide individual, collective and specialised training to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, including to their Territorial Defence Forces, and coordination and synchronisation of member states’ activities supporting the delivery of training."
"The EU Military Assistance Mission is not just a training mission, it is clear proof that the EU will stand by Ukraine for as long as is needed," Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated.
EUMAM Ukraine will operate within the territory of EU member states and will have its Operational Headquarters within the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels. Vice Admiral Herve Blejean, the Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) within the EEAS, will be the Mission Commander. The mandate of the non-executive mission will initially last two years, with its financing costs estimated at 106 700 000 euro. The mission will be "open to participation of third states."
Hungary is the only EU country that has refused to support the initiative to train Ukrainian military in Europe, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.
"It was decided today that ... EU countries’ representatives will carry out training of Ukrainian military. I would like to say that Hungary did not vote for the initiative ... We will not participate in the mission," Szijjarto was cited as saying by media.
The minister underscored that Hungary was the only EU country to adopt such a stance, since it does not support steps leading to an escalation of the conflict. Budapest is in favor of the early start of peace negotiations, the minister added.
Earlier reports had suggested the military training would start in mid-November and take place on EU territory, with Poland hosting the main hub of the mission. Germany was also reportedly to be a key staging post for training. Training programs operated by individual European states will continue independently until they become incorporated into the EU mission at a later stage.
Since Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the so-called collective West has imposed swathes of sanctions on Moscow, as well as providing military and technical assistance to Kiev. Although countries which have sanctioned Russia have repeatedly stated that they have no intention to send troops to Ukraine and become a part to the conflict, they did not baulk at sending their instructors to Ukraine and also assisting Ukrainian soldiers in travelling to other countries to undergo military training.
Besides the United States, Canada and the UK, which have already been training thousands of Ukrainian troops, several individual EU nations, such as Germany and France, have been training Ukrainians to use the modern artillery systems, missile launchers and air defenses they have delivered to Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly rebuked the West for supplying weapons to Kiev, warning that western countries “are playing with fire”. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that "any weapon [and] any arms shipment to the Ukrainian territory" would be considered “a legitimate target” by the Russian military.