EU to expand training mission to train 75,000 Ukrainian recruits

Spain rules out deploying trainers in Ukraine as requested by kyiv and some countries are considering it

BRUSSELS, Aug. 30 () –

The European Union (EU) will expand the capacity of its training mission to Ukrainian troops in order to train 75,000 soldiers who can then fight the Russian invasion.

According to the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, who confirmed during the meeting of European defence ministers in Brussels, the EU plans to increase the capacity of the Ukrainian military assistance mission (EUAM), which has so far trained 60,000 Ukrainian recruits.

“Today there has been talk of increasing the number of people to be trained, up to 75,000 people. In Spain we are going to end the year with around 6,000 Ukrainian fighters trained in our territory and we are prepared to increase it as much as necessary,” Robles explained in statements to the press.

For Spain, the European mission is currently a “fundamental” contribution to kyiv in dealing with the Russian invasion, especially at a time when Russia is launching a wave of attacks against cities and civilian infrastructure and threatening power cuts during the winter.

“Spain will increase the level of cooperation of Ukrainian combatants as necessary,” he said, looking ahead to the coming months when, as he explained, military progress will be less frequent due to weather conditions and the situation will become more difficult for the civilian population.

Regarding the debate within the EU on training Ukrainian troops on Ukrainian soil, Robles has ruled out Spain taking that step, as requested by kyiv.

“Spain does not share this view. We are going to increase our participation, we firmly believe in the mission and it is having very positive results, but Spain will continue to carry it out in Spain, within Spanish territory. It will not deploy trainers to Ukraine,” he said.

This position contrasts with that of other European colleagues who, upon their arrival at the meeting in Brussels, defended the option of sending soldiers to Ukraine. This is the case of the Swedish Minister of Defence, Pal Johnson, who has assured that Stockholm “does not exclude” the scenario of training soldiers on Ukrainian soil, although he has insisted that it must preserve the unity of the EU and “take into account political and military considerations”.

His Latvian colleague, Andris Spruds, has not ruled this out either, and has supported thinking about ways to expand and boost the training of Ukrainian soldiers. “If this decision is taken, it will be collective and with the efficiency of the mission in mind,” he said.