EU extends Ukrainian troop training mission by two years and will set up representation in Ukraine

The Council of the European Union, the body that brings together member state ministers and adopts EU decisions, decided on 9 November to extend the mandate of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) by two years. It will now run until 15 November 2028, with nearly €300 million allocated for the period. The mission trains Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, so the decision means EU support for preparing Ukraine's military will continue for two more years.

The decision followed a recent strategic review of the mission's activities.

Representation in Ukraine

At the same time, the Council decided to establish a representation of the mission in Ukraine. Its task is to ensure direct and effective coordination with Ukraine's military leadership, the Armed Forces and international partners. This will allow the EU to keep adapting its training programmes to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The mandate was also supplemented with provisions on incorporating lessons learned on the battlefield and strengthening military training in support of Ukraine's defence needs.

About the mission

EUMAM Ukraine is one of the EU's key instruments of military support for Ukraine, and its main objective is to help enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Council of the EU established the mission on 17 October 2022 with an initial two-year mandate. Since then, more than 100,000 Ukrainian service personnel have been trained at Ukraine's request.

The mission provides individual, collective and specialised training for Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel on the territory of EU member states, and also coordinates and harmonises training programmes run by individual member states.

It was previously reported that the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg will fund the modernisation of two military training centres in Ukraine. In September last year, the EU began work on changing the training mission's mandate so that it could be deployed in Ukraine.