EU Strengthens Support for Ukrainian Forces... Training Over 15,000 Troops and Investing 17 Trillion Won

Confirmed at the Mid-Month Foreign Ministers' Meeting

Ukrainian soldier inspecting a machine gun. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The European Union (EU) is significantly strengthening its support for Ukraine, including launching full-scale training for more than 15,000 Ukrainian troops. Military aid will also be expanded to between 10 billion and 12 billion euros (approximately 13.8 trillion to 16.7 trillion KRW) by 2027.

According to foreign media on the 9th, after some intense debates, the 27 EU member states have decided to soon begin training Ukrainian forces within EU member countries.

EU foreign ministers plan to hold a meeting in Luxembourg in mid-month to finalize this plan. The training period will initially be two years, with 15,000 troops to be trained by next winter. The scale of trainees could later increase to 45,000. Last month, Ukraine requested training for nine brigades, each consisting of 5,000 troops, through a letter.

EU member states are also discussing expanding the European Peace Facility (EEF), currently valued at 5.7 billion euros (7.9 trillion KRW), to between 10 billion and 20 billion euros by 2027, aiming to significantly increase military support for weapons supply and training for Ukrainian forces over the coming months. So far, 2.6 billion euros (3.6 trillion KRW) have been spent on military aid to Ukraine.