“Involved in confrontation with Russia”: how the EU is implementing a program to train the Ukrainian military

Bulgaria will take part in the EU training mission for military assistance to Kyiv.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.

“By its decision, the Bulgarian government declares its readiness to provide a contribution to the training mission.

The training will be carried out on the territory of Germany, Poland and a number of other EU countries.

It is envisaged that within the framework of the Bulgarian participation, after agreement with the Ukrainian side, military orderlies will be trained on the territory of Bulgaria (up to 15 military personnel per month, up to four modules within one year), ”TASS quoted the press service of the Bulgarian defense department as saying.

It is noted that the decision on the participation of the republic in the pan-European mission was made by the government of the country in pursuance of the decision of the National Assembly of November 3, 2022.

Recall that the creation of the EU training mission (European Union Military Assistance Mission in Ukraine, EUMAM) was announced on October 17.

As Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, noted at the time, the program is designed to help "Ukraine protect itself from Russia's illegal aggression."

“The EU Military Assistance Mission will provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with training so that they can continue their brave fight.

EUMAM is not just a training mission, it is also clear proof that the EU will support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Borrell said.

The website of the Council of the European Union notes that EUMAM was organized in response to a request from Ukraine.

“The EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) will provide individual, collective and specialized training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including their territorial defense forces, and will coordinate and synchronize the activities of Member States that contribute to the training,” the agency said in a statement.

In turn, the website of the European External Action Service reports that at the first stage, it is planned to train about 15,000 military Armed Forces of Ukraine within the framework of the program.

12 thousand of them will undergo collective training, and 2.8 thousand military personnel will be sent to specialized training.

Ukrainians will be trained in command and control, tactics, medical assistance, demining, combating cyber threats, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense, and a number of other disciplines.

French vice-admiral Hervé Blezhan was appointed mission commander.

The duration of the program is two years.

"There will be no great benefit from the Bulgarian army"

On November 9, the details of the EUMAM organization were reported by the German newspaper Die Welt.

According to the publication, at an informal conference on the training of Ukrainian troops, held on November 8, it was determined which countries and with what number of instructors involved would take part in the educational mission.

It is assumed that Germany and Poland will take the leading role in the preparation of the Ukrainian military.

Germany wants to participate, in particular, in military-strategic planning and training of Ukrainian instructors.

The mission will be controlled from Brussels.

Two more subordinate headquarters will be located in Poland and Germany.

After the preparation of the first batch of Ukrainian military personnel, it is planned to further increase the number of trainees.

According to Die Welt, Ukraine initially demanded to train up to nine brigades, which could amount to several tens of thousands of people.

According to Die Welt, the cost of the mission will be €54 million per year.

The money will come from the so-called European Peace Fund, which is directly funded by EU member states.

The amount of the fund until 2027 will be €5.7 billion. In the future, it is planned to increase the amount to €10-12 billion, consultations on this matter are still ongoing, according to Die Welt.

It is planned that the start of the mission on November 14 will be announced by the heads of the foreign ministries of the EU countries.

At the same time, journalists report that mission commander Herve Blezhan has already warned partners through internal channels that the mission allegedly “will become the object of disinformation, as well as hybrid and cyber campaigns by Russia.”

• Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria

• Gettyimages.ru

• © NurPhoto

According to analysts, Bulgaria's participation in the EUMAM mission is mainly due to the desire of Brussels "to involve as many countries as possible in the process."

Thus, they want to "show that this is a pan-European initiative."

“There will not be much benefit from the Bulgarian army, but demonstrating such involvement is of some importance, especially given that in many EU countries there is already a certain skepticism about European participation in the anti-Russian campaign in Ukraine.

This is just a propaganda gesture that will have no practical significance, ”said Alexei Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Research, in an interview with RT.

"On Potential Lines of Contact"

The training of the Ukrainian military has become part of a large-scale military-technical and financial assistance to Kyiv from the EU.

At the expense of the European Peace Fund, Brussels has already allocated €3.1 billion in military assistance to Kyiv.

The last tranche - the sixth - in the amount of €500 million was approved by the foreign ministers of the EU states on October 17.

Of this amount, €490 million was spent on military equipment and €10 million was spent on the supply of personal protective equipment, first aid kits and fuel to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

• Ukrainian military near the Polish howitzer Krab

• AFP

• © Dimitar DILKOFF

In addition, to support the Ukrainian economy, the European Commission on November 9 proposed to provide Kyiv with a financial assistance package in the amount of €18 billion for 2023. These funds should be sent to Ukraine in the form of loans on favorable terms.

It is assumed that assistance in the amount of about €1.5 billion per month will meet a significant part of Ukraine's short-term needs.

Recall that in May, the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, turned to the EU with a proposal to “significantly increase assistance in the short term by providing additional macro-financial support to Ukraine in the amount of up to €9 billion in 2022.”

Of this amount, €3.5 billion has already been received by Kyiv, and it will receive another €2.5 billion by the end of November.

But, according to the first deputy head of the EC Valdis Dombrovskis, this tranche will be the last in 2022.

The remaining €3 billion of the promised €9 billion will not be sent to Ukraine this year.

For this reason, “taking into account the needs” of Ukraine, it is necessary “to make a significant payment at the beginning of next year from (planned for 2023. -

) € 18 billion,” Dombrovskis said.

“We propose that it be €9 billion. This payment should be made already in January,” the EC representative added. 

According to experts, this level of Brussels' support for Kyiv gives reason to talk about the EU as a full-fledged participant in the Ukrainian conflict.

“The European Union, as a subject of international relations, is, of course, a participant in an armed conflict.

Although this is strange, because this is not a military-political bloc, but an economic association.

But in recent years, military structures have been created there - a foreign intelligence center, for example.

The European Union is gradually beginning to acquire the functions that are inherent in the military bloc,” Alexei Podberezkin emphasized.

According to Vladimir Vinokurov, professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, such involvement of the European Union in the Ukrainian crisis increases the risks of a direct clash between the EU and Russia.

“There is a danger that they may be physically involved in the confrontation with the Russian Federation.

Western troops are already on potential lines of contact, for example in Romania.

Any local clash with Russia could flare up like a wildfire.

In addition, they are already so financially mired in this conflict that it will be very difficult for them to get out of it before the defeat of Kyiv, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

In turn, Alexei Podberezkin does not rule out that serious participation in the Ukrainian conflict could undermine internal unity in the EU.

“This threatens to increase disagreements within the European Union.

Because centrifugal tendencies are already being observed - mainly due to countries such as Hungary and Italy, which do not want to participate in this operation, ”concluded Podberezkin.