EU officially extends military training mission for Ukraine by two years

The EU Council has extended the mandate of the European Union’s military training mission for Ukrainian soldiers for two years, with a budget allocation of over €400 million.

Source: European Pravda with reference to the EU Council’s press service 

Details: On Friday, the EU Council approved the extension of the mandate of the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM Ukraine) for another two years, until 15 November 2026.

The mission’s budget includes €409 million for the period from 14 November 2024 to 15 November 2026.

Quote: "EUMAM Ukraine remains a key tool for EU’s military support to Ukraine, with its core objective of contributing to enhancing the military capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

In line with today’s decision, EUMAM Ukraine will cooperate with NATO, in particular the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), and exchange information with the latter in a transparent, reciprocal and inclusive manner."

More details: The EU ambassadors supported the decision on Wednesday, 6 November. 

Background

• The European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) was established on 17 October 2022 with an initial mandate lasting two years. The mission is funded by the European Peace Facility.
• As part of the mission, around 63,000 Ukrainian soldiers have undergone various forms of training within EU countries, equivalent to staffing ten brigades.
• "The mission will train an additional 15 000 troops in coming months, bringing the total number of soldiers trained to 75 000 by the end of winter 2024/2025," the press service adds in the statement.
• Further quantitative targets will be continuously adjusted based on Ukraine’s needs.
• The continuation of training assistance for Ukrainian soldiers is one of the points of a separate security agreement that Ukraine signed with the EU as a union in June 2024.
• In August 2024, EU defence ministers decided that they would not move Ukrainian military exercises to Ukraine's territory but would hold them as close to its borders as possible.

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