(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 18 - This week, the EU has launched a training mission for Ukrainian soldiers. It is the largest EU military mission so far.
At the defence ministers' meeting in
Brussels, its outlines became clearer. When it comes to
delivering weapons to Ukraine to replenish depleted stocks, the
EU warns individual member states against going it alone.
EUMAM UKRAINE.
At the beginning of this week, the EU officially launched a
training mission for Ukrainian troops called the European Union
Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine). The general decision
to install the training mission had already been taken by the
foreign ministers on October 17. Hungary was the only country
that did not vote in favor, but made use of the possibility of a
constructive abstention, which means that the country is neither
participating in nor financing the mission. Austria had already
declared it would support the mission, but did not plan to be an
active part of it.
This is the largest military training mission the EU has ever
launched. It aims to prepare an initial 15,000 Ukrainian troops
for the battlefield. The mission is initially designed for two
years and expected to cost around 60 million euros per annum.
The money comes from the bloc's European Peace Facility, a fund
that has already been severely strained, as it is also tapped to
cover the cost of weapon deliveries by EU members to Ukraine.
The mission will be carried out by some twenty member states.
MISSION HEADQUARTERS IN POLAND AND GERMANY.
The main hub for the mission will be in Ukraine's neighboring
country Poland, with secondary headquarters set up in Germany.
Germany's Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said at a meeting
with EU counterparts in Brussels that Berlin was planning to
train 5,000 Ukrainians "in a wide range of skills" by next June.
Slovenia will participate in the EU mission to train Ukrainian
troops with a few dozen instructors, who are expected to be
deployed to Germany, Defence Ministry State Secretary Damir
Črnčec announced in Brussels on Tuesday. The instructors are to
provide mostly specialist training, he said, noting that the
proposal was yet to be confirmed by the government. The ministry
is holding internal discussions as to in what way Slovenia could
participate and which specialist skills of Slovenian army
members could be useful. What kind of experts Slovenia will send
also depends on the needs of the Ukrainian army, Črnčec said.
But he added that for the time being there were no plans for
Ukrainian soldiers to be trained in Slovenia.
OTHER COUNTRIES' PARTICIPATION.
Spain's Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, announced at
Tuesday's Council meeting that the country will be able to train
2,400 Ukrainian troops per year within the framework of this
mission, although she recalled that Spain has already trained
more than one hundred members of the Ukrainian armed forces
individually in Zaragoza, Almería, Toledo and Madrid.
"Spain has always been an ally that has been involved in all
European Union missions, and we understand that this mission is
important in order to help Ukraine," Robles said in Brussels.
Belgian Minister of Defene Ludivine Dedonder announced that her
country would make 50 to 100 soldiers available for the mission.
The Belgian army is specialized in demining on land and at sea
and is ready to share this knowhow. Last month the government
already decided to invite Ukrainian soldiers to Belgium next
year to learn how to operate new equipment to defuse explosives.
But depending on the needs and requests of Kiev, Belgium would
also be willing to provide other forms of training, such as
combat training and fire support, communications and
traumatology on the battlefield.
Within the framework of EUMAM Ukraine, Bulgaria will train four
units of a total of 60 Ukrainian military nurses and medical
staff in Sofia. The country is hoping to be ready for a
parliament decision on military equipment support as early as
next week.
At the foreign ministers' meeting on November 14, Romanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the need
to continue EU support for Ukraine on all levels - political,
financial, military and economic. He hailed the launch and rapid
operationalization of EUMAM Ukraine and the adoption of
assistance measures by the European Peace Facility. He also
mentioned that Romania will continue to provide multidimensional
support for Ukraine and recalled Romania's efforts to facilitate
the export of grain and other Ukrainian products through
Romanian sea ports.
UNCLEAR SITUATION IN CROATIA.
The Croatian government wants to participate in the training
mission for Ukrainian soldiers, but it is not certain that this
will happen, because President Zoran Milanović, who has
authority over the army, opposes the idea. As commander-in-chief
of the armed forces, the president can block the government's
decision. His opposition can be overridden by a two-thirds
majority in parliament. After reiterating his opposition on
November 15, Milanović stated: "Let Parliament discuss the
matter, if two-thirds of MPs make a decision to that effect, I
will accept it."
The Croatian government accuses Milanović of having pro-Russian
views, whereas he believes that by participating in EUMAM
Ukraine, Croatia would become involved in the war. President
Milanović accuses the government and ministers of attempting to
circumvent him in decision-making on foreign affairs and
defence.
After Tuesday's meeting, Defence Minister Mario Banožić was
unable to say how exactly Croatia would be involved, "I cannot
comment on the mode until it passes coordinating bodies,
primarily the government. The mode was proposed by the Croatian
army, based on its experience in previous missions and
operations." Asked if Ukrainian soldiers would be trained in
Croatia or some other EU member country if the decision was
approved, Banožić said that both modes had been proposed.
(continues)
This article was produced with contributions from Agerpres, AFP,
APA, Belga, BTA, dpa, HINA, EFE and STA as part of the European
Newsroom (enr) project. (ANSA).