EU eyes bases for military training in Ukraine
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Ukrainian servicemen undergoing training at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Jan 28.
PHOTO: AFP
- The EU is considering two training centres in Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers, following a deal to stop fighting.
- The bloc has already trained 90,000 Ukrainian soldiers on EU soil; facility renovations in Ukraine may start before fighting ends.
- Britain and France are willing to deploy troops to Ukraine post-conflict; Russia warns NATO troops would be "legitimate targets".
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BRUSSELS - EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Feb 11 that Brussels was eyeing several bases that could be used to train Ukrainian troops in the war-torn country if there is a deal to stop the fighting.
“We have been discussing the training of the Ukrainian soldiers, also on the soil of Ukraine,” Ms Kallas said, at a meeting of EU defence ministers.
“We have identified two training centres that could be used for that purpose,” she said, without providing details.
The EU has said it could start training Ukrainian forces in their homeland as part of Western security guarantees under any potential agreement to end Russia’s four-year war.
The 27-nation bloc has already trained some 90,000 Ukrainian soldiers on EU soil as part of a joint European programme.
An EU official said renovations of the training facilities could start before fighting stops.
Several of Ukraine’s European backers – led by Britain and France – have said they are willing to deploy their own troops to Ukraine if efforts by the United States end the conflict.
Russia has warned that it would not accept troops from NATO countries on Ukrainian soil and would consider them a “legitimate target”. AFP
