Spiegel: The EU plans to train up to 15 000 Ukrainian soldiers

The countries of the European Union at the working level agreed on a training mission for the Ukrainian military. They plan to train up to 15 000 soldiers.

Spiegel writes about it.

According to diplomats who participated in the negotiations, three thousand Ukrainian soldiers will undergo special training, in particular, combat tactics for commanders or courses for engineers.

The project will be called "European Union Military Assistance Mission" or EUMAM for short. It is expected that it will be agreed by mid-October.

According to Spiegel, there was controversy on the sidelines about this mission. Poland offered to place near the border with Ukraine a large training camp for Ukrainians — they wanted to train combat groups up to the battalion level.

At the same time, Germany did not plan to deploy a central training camp in Poland. The Bundeswehr noted that its creation will take a long time. In addition, such a camp must be widely protected from possible espionage by the Russian special services, possible attacks or sabotage, because it is known that the Russians monitored the exercises of the Ukrainian military at the "Wildfleken" training ground with the help of drones.

In the end, a compromise was found. Poles should create a small headquarters with EU funds. Instead of a central training camp, Ukrainians will be offered individual courses in EU countries. Germany is already planning its own training programs. The German army could train Ukrainian commanders in tactics in a combat simulation center, and the country plans to train engineers, sappers, medics and other specialists.

The final details of the EUMAM mission are to be agreed in Brussels next week. Then the project should be adopted at the official meeting of the Council of the EU on October 17.

• In Great Britain, Ukrainian soldiers and sailors are currently being trained. According to the ambassador of Ukraine, the British are training a group of 10 000 volunteers, the training lasts 120 days. It is planned that the next 10 thousand will be prepared every next 120 days.
• Sweden, Finland, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand send their instructors to train Ukrainians in Britain.