EU to Train 20,000 Ukrainian Soldiers

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced on Wednesday that an additional 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained within the European Union by the end of the coming summer.

Following a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels, Borrell explained that this initiative would raise the total number of trained Ukrainian soldiers to 60,000, including those who have already undergone training.

Earlier today in Brussels, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer revealed that Germany plans to train an additional 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers this year as part of the European Union's military support mission.

The number of Ukrainian soldiers trained under this mission has already reached nearly 40,000.

The decision to undertake this mission was approved by European Union foreign ministers in November 2022, initially aiming to train up to 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Germany, Poland, and other EU-affiliated countries.

This target was subsequently increased to 30,000 and later to 40,000. The German army has taken the lead in training 10,000 of these soldiers.

The European Union's primary objective with this mission is to empower Ukrainian forces to defend more effectively against Russian attacks and enhance the country's resilience in the ongoing conflict.

German forces are providing training in various systems, including the Patriot air defense system, self-propelled howitzers (Howitzer 2000), infantry fighting vehicles (Marder), as well as Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 combat tanks. Additionally, military leadership and healthcare training are also part of the program.