EU member states may extend the mandate of the military training mission for Ukraine EUMAM to its territory after a ceasefire is reached. after an informal meeting with the defence ministers of member states, EU topdiplomat Kaja Kallas said there was “broad support” for a decision to this effect.
“Today (29 August – ed.) the ministers also discussed the EU’s role in security guarantees. And it is clear that Europe will fully fulfil its part. I welcome the fact that today there is broad support for expanding the mandate of our military mission EUMAM to provide training as well as consultations on the territory of Ukraine after any ceasefire,” the prominent official said.
Asked whether all 27 member states, whose consent is needed to change the mission’s mandate, have expressed support for the decision, Kallas did not answer directly.
“When there are 27 of us, and 26 support us, then I can say it’s broad support… One of the elements of credible security guarantees is training – the military mission as well as the civilian mission,” the diplomat said
Now the Ukrainian military is being trained outside Ukraine. Earlier, there were attempts to agree on moving this process to its territory in order to make it cheaper and improve logistics. However, they failed, the official clarified.
“We are the largest provider of training for the Ukrainian military. We have already trained more than 80,000 soldiers, and we should be ready to do more. This could include placing EU trainers in Ukraine, military academies and institutions. In parallel, our civilian mission can strengthen Ukraine’s resilience against Russian hybrid attacks,” Kallas emphasised.
The diplomat also noted that Europe is the “largest” investor in Ukraine’s defence industry.
“We can help Ukraine to open production lines here in Europe and encourage big European investments also in Ukraine. And Denmark has the leadership here… going forward we will coordinate closely with a coalition of the willing,” Kallas concluded.
Earlier, Kallas also commented on the idea of creating an international mission in Ukraine, noting that the format of such an initiative is still under discussion and could range from monitoring to peacekeeping, Radio Liberty reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the Western contingents in Ukraine proposed by a “coalition of the willing” led by France and Britain would not be deployed on the contact line but would operate at strategic points in the peace zone as security support forces.