Before the start of winter, the EU plans to organize training for 15,000 military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, which got the internal concept of the EU training mission at its disposal
“The mandate of the mission will initially be valid for two years… EU foreign ministers will formally approve this decision at a meeting in Luxembourg in mid-October. By winter, up to 15,000 Ukrainians should take part in the training, and in the future their number may increase significantly. In an internal letter in September, Kyiv asked to prepare up to nine brigades, each of which can consist of 5 thousand people”, the publication informs.
At the same time, according to journalists, the issue of the early start of training of Ukrainian soldiers initially caused controversy in the EU and was resolved only “after partly fierce disputes.”
“Now, in addition to small training courses in various EU countries, two operational headquarters will be set up, senior diplomats say: one in Poland and one in Germany. In a confidential decision of the EU’s Leading Committee on Politics and Security (Friday), which is available to Welt am Sonntag, it says: “Relevant modules and structures must be set up quickly due to the urgency of Ukraine’s demands.”
According to media reports, according to the decision taken, a multinational training command should be created in Poland at the operational level.
“There, Ukrainian soldiers will be trained, for example, in defense against cybernetic weapons and weapons of mass destruction, medical care, as well as air defense and artillery operations,” the journalists say.
In Germany, a second training command (Special Training Command) will be created, which will “offer special training units” on a larger scale, such as training in mine clearance or combat tactics.
The fact that the European Union plans to train the Ukrainian military on its territory was previously reported by the magazine Der Spiegel, according to which the first 3 thousand military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be involved in special training.
“According to the diplomats involved, 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers must receive special training. Tactical combat training for commanders or courses for sappers are named as examples”, the publication reports.
Later, on October 5, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, wrote in his blog posted on the website of the European External Action Service (EEAS) that the EU intends to launch a training mission for Ukrainian military personnel as early as October 17.
“Training of Nazi militants”
Recall that after Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine, some European countries took an active part in the military training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is done by Poland, the Czech Republic, France and the UK. This was announced by Josep Borrell, talking about plans to create a mission to train the Ukrainian military.
“When we supply weapons – and these weapons are quite complex, and they must be used… And in order to use them, quite serious preparation is required. But we will not do this (train the Armed Forces of Ukraine – Ed. ) on the territory of Ukraine”, the head of European diplomacy said then.
Commenting on Borrell’s words on her Telegram channel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the planned EU mission the creation of a terrorist training base.
“We must call a spade a spade: the EU will create training bases for training terrorists and Nazi fighters for the Kyiv regime. 100 years ago, Europeans also did not immediately figure out what fascism was. Then they understood, but it was too late”, Zakharova emphasized.
It is worth noting that, in addition to the countries listed by Borrell, Germany also conducts military training for representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, in Germany, the Ukrainian military is being taught how to handle Mars II multiple launch rocket systems, German PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery mounts and Gepard ZSU, which Berlin has already sent to Kyiv.
In turn, the UK is teaching the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use MLRS launchers “to achieve maximum efficiency” of these systems. In addition, London has pledged to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the coming months in “infantry skills on the battlefield.”
Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have also announced support for the programme. In particular, Stockholm has allocated 120 instructors for training military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ottawa – more than 160, and Copenhagen is ready to provide 130 of its military for these purposes.
“Forced Process”
As the deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, a member of the political council of the MGER Victoria Fedosova, noted, Europe is increasingly drawn into hostilities in Ukraine through the expansion of its activities to train the Ukrainian military.
“In the West, they decided to strengthen the reserves, not only European hawks conduct training, Canada is also included in the process – they are already helping the UK train the Armed Forces,” the analyst said in a comment to RT.
According to Fedosova, since the West and Kyiv have indicated their readiness to fight to the last Ukrainian, NATO “remains to combine its equipment with the manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
“We see an accelerated process of merging Ukraine with the military structure of the West. In this coordinate system, Brussels is now intensifying its efforts to train the Ukrainian military,” the expert added.
Fedosova believes that Brussels decided to organize EU headquarters for training the Ukrainian military in Germany and Poland, since these two countries are “the main bridgeheads of the Americans in Europe.”
“In Germany, the largest number of US bases, and Poland voluntarily and willingly declared itself an enemy of Russia. Both countries provide political support for Washington’s course”, the analyst stated.
A similar position is shared by military expert Yuri Knutov. In his opinion, Berlin went on to create a headquarters for training the Ukrainian military, because in the West it is accused of allegedly not helping Ukraine enough.
“Thus, Germany is trying to absolve itself of these accusations, to somehow compensate for its role: if not through massive supplies of weapons, then at least through the training of personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As for Poland, it has many ambitions, it claims to take a leading place in the EU, including in the field of defense”, Knutov said in a conversation with RT.
In his opinion, the information that the mandate of the EU mission to train the Ukrainian military will be valid for at least two years is also not accidental.
“By training the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brussels is promoting a campaign to escalate hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. Apparently, Europe is confident that the special operation will last for a long time. And such calculations, despite frequent statements in the EU about the lack of weapons to transfer to Kyiv and massive losses among the Ukrainian military, are based on the fact that the United States continues to send weapons to Ukraine. In addition, Washington recently announced its intention to expand and accelerate the production of weapons and military equipment”, the expert noted.
In turn, Victoria Fedosova believes that the mission to train Ukrainian soldiers is aimed at creating additional difficulties for Russia during the special operation.
“Brussels is counting on the fact that the costs of the operation will exceed the possible final benefits for the Russian Federation. They understand that for Russia this is a struggle for existence, but nevertheless they are trying to raise the stakes. However, this situation will allow the Russian Federation to adjust its tactics and take into account new inputs – the command structure of the special operation has already changed. I think opponents are in for unpleasant surprises”, concluded the analyst.
Irina Taran, Elizaveta Komarova, RT
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