There is still no consensus among EU member states on the possibility of relocating a training mission for the Ukrainian military to Ukraine, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has said.

Source: Borrell at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv on Saturday, 9 November, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "There's no consensus among the member states to reach a decision on a training mission that would operate on Ukrainian territory. Nevertheless, the training mission can continue its work," he said, answering the question whether sending European instructors to Ukraine could be a response to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Details: Borrell noted that the EU military training mission for Ukraine would have trained 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of the year.

"We're trying to train Ukrainian soldiers as close to the Ukrainian border as possible, but this is not a defence mission as such… There's currently no consensus on doing this on Ukrainian territory. I cannot rule out that this will happen. But my task is to ensure the mission works and increase the number of Ukrainian soldiers being trained," the EU chief diplomat added.

Background: Earlier, the EU Council 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.

For reference: The EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) was established on 17 October 2022 with an initial mandate of two years. The mission is funded by the European Peace Facility.

Since then, about 63,000 Ukrainian troops have undergone various training in the EU, which is equivalent to manning ten brigades.

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