EU to train 11 thousand Ukrainian servicemen by the end of March – Borrell

The EU’s Assistance Mission for Ukraine will train 11,000 Ukrainian servicemen by the end of March, rising to 30,000 by the end of the year.

This was stated by EU High Representative Josep Borrell in Stockholm at a press conference following an informal meeting of EU defense ministers, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“By the end of this month, our Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM-Ukraine) will complete the training of more than 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers. By the end of the year, 30,000 soldiers will complete such training. All Member States are satisfied with the results achieved by this training mission and are committed to do more,” Borrell said.

He emphasized that such training is crucial, especially when the battle tanks are arriving in Ukraine, and the crews of these battle tanks need training.

“It is not only about individual training of crews of each tank but also about their ability to fight together. This will require a lot of effort from our training mission, which is already very busy. This training mission clearly demonstrates our unwavering and committed support for Ukraine. This is the key message I would like to send to the public after this meeting,” the EU High Representative emphasized.

He noted that European defense ministers focused today’s meeting on Ukraine, and it could not have been otherwise.

“We met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov, who briefed us on the current military situation on the ground and explained the nature of Ukraine’s military needs. After listening to Minister Reznikov, we know that the coming weeks and months, but mainly the weeks, will be critical because the military situation remains very difficult, especially in Bakhmut, where fierce fighting continues,” Borrell emphasized.

As reported, an informal meeting of European defense ministers took place in Stockholm on March 8 under the auspices of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The first and key issue of this meeting was to accelerate military assistance from the EU countries to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. The first session of the ministerial meeting was attended by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov.

UkrInform