EU ramps up funding for Ukraine military training
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Ukrainian servicemen taking part in a military training exercise in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
PHOTO: AFP
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BRUSSELS - The European Union on Nov 28 agreed to more than quadruple its spending on training Ukrainian soldiers to battle Russia, investing close to an extra €200 million (S$292 million).
The 27-nation bloc has so far trained 34,000 Ukrainian personnel for the front line as Kyiv seeks to fight back Russia’s invading forces.
That makes the EU the biggest provider of training for Ukraine’s military, as Kyiv desperately seeks to reconstitute its numbers in the face of heavy fighting.
The latest funding increased the amount from the EU’s central European Peace Facility fund for the training by €194 million to €255 million in total, Brussels said in a statement.
Officials said they were aiming to reach 40,000 Ukrainian troops trained by the EU in the near future.
The announcement of additional funds for training Ukrainians comes as the EU is struggling to put together a larger package of longer-term support for Ukraine.
Hungary, Russia’s closest ally in the EU, has threatened to hold up any talks at a summit in December on providing more military and financial aid to Ukraine or letting Kyiv open membership talks to join the bloc.
The EU says that the bloc, together with member states, has delivered some €27 billion in military support to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022. AFP
