“Political split personality”: how the EU calls for a peaceful settlement and launches a military mission for Ukraine

The launch of an EU training mission to train the Ukrainian military testifies to the "political split personality" of the commonwealth, as at the same time European leaders advocate a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.

This was announced on the sidelines of the G20 summit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“If we touch on the specific decision of the European Union to launch a military training mission, then there is a split in consciousness.

In parallel with this, French President (Emmanuel. -

) Macron, German Chancellor (Olaf. -

) Scholz and other leaders of European countries talk about the need to move towards a peaceful settlement.

This is such a political “split personality,” said the Russian Foreign Minister.

He also noted that the European Union and NATO have long been participants in a hybrid conflict in Ukraine.

“This includes the supply of weapons, and training, and the training of military personnel, and assistance in providing a huge amount of intelligence, and participation in setting targets (the Americans are doing this), and the work of instructors on the ground, not to mention thousands of mercenaries,” Lavrov explained.

Earlier, on November 14, the start of the EUMAM Ukraine (EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine) training mission was announced at the representation of the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency.

A day later, the start of the mission under the command of Vice Admiral Herve Blezhan was announced by the press service of the Council of the EU.

“EUMAM Ukraine has a non-executive mandate to conduct individual, collective and specialized training for up to 15 thousand military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in various places on the territory of the EU member states,” the message specified.

Training in Europe

As the head of the EU Foreign Service, Josep Borrell, noted on November 14 after the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Commonwealth countries, the mission opens its work in record time.

Thus, on October 7, the leaders of the EU member states at an informal meeting discussed the possibility of creating a military training mission for Ukraine.

And already on October 17, the Foreign Ministers of the EU countries approved the decision to organize such for a period of two years.

It is planned to allocate €106.7 million for the needs of the mission.

“EUMAM Ukraine will provide training for the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ... to provide medical assistance, CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear. -

) defense, demining, logistics and communications, maintenance and repair, etc.,” explained in the press service of the EU on November 15.

The mission will also provide training for junior officers, including operational ones, the press service said.

We are talking about training companies, battalions and brigades in collective maneuvers, as well as advising on planning, preparing and conducting live-fire exercises.

In addition, additional funding in the amount of €16 million has been agreed to build the capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of the mission.

It should be allocated from the so-called European Peace Fund, which is directly replenished by EU member states.

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

“We plan to train 5,000 (Ukrainian. -

) military men in a wide variety of skills in a brigade format by June,” German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht told reporters on November 15.

• German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht

• AP

• © Mindaugas Kulbis

The intention to participate in the mission on the same day was expressed in Cyprus and Croatia.

Readiness to contribute to the work of the mission was previously expressed in Bulgaria.

However, not all EU countries expressed their readiness to assist EUMAM Ukraine.

In particular, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, in a comment to journalists on October 17, noted that his country supports the mission, but does not plan to participate in it.

Hungary stated its position more categorically, refusing to train representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and finance EUMAM Ukraine.

“We do not consider it a good idea to do everything that leads to escalation and involvement in the conflict of Western or Central Europe,” Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of the state, said at a press conference on the same day.

long history

The launch of a training mission for Ukraine on November 15 was welcomed by NATO.

As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted in an interview with reporters, allies in the bloc have been training the Ukrainian military since 2014.

In particular, the United States, Great Britain and Canada are engaged in the preparation, he specified.

According to him, London this year alone contributed to the training of about 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

“This (EUMAM Ukraine. -

) will complement the activities of the NATO allies, which have been carried out for several years.

However, NATO allies have already trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops,” Stoltenberg said.

Earlier, the Pentagon admitted that they were engaged in the preparation and equipping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine long before the start of the Russian military operation.

In particular, the press secretary of the department, John Kirby, on Fox News on May 11, proudly stated that the United States financed the supply of lethal weapons to Kyiv, among other things.

“The first $ 1 billion allocated to Ukraine by the President (USA Joe Biden. -

) actually included lethal assistance ... And ... an item that we, in my opinion, do not remember as often as we should.

This is training and the efforts that have been made over the past eight years to prepare Ukrainians for this kind of hostilities, ”Kirby said.

"Trying to sit on two chairs"

According to military expert Alexei Leonkov, the ambivalent policy of the EU countries towards the conflict in Ukraine testifies to their "attempts to sit on two chairs."

“On the one hand, the European Union is a vassal of the United States in many matters, and on the other hand, the EU is trying to demonstrate its independence.

The launch of a training mission seems to be an independent initiative, which, nevertheless, is quite consistent with the course pursued by the United States, ”he explained in an interview with RT.

He also emphasized that such duality will not bring the alliance to good.

“Soon the EU will have to choose with whom it will connect its future.

Within the union, anti-American sentiments and requests for a European identity are growing.

At the same time, the Commonwealth is experiencing an economic and energy crisis, which forces it to close enterprises and go into bondage to the United States for LNG.

Therefore, in my opinion, the only way out of the situation can be the collapse of the EU, so that each European country can decide for itself what to do in accordance with its national interests,” Leonkov stressed.  

• US military in Poland

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Artur Widak/NurPhoto

In turn, RISS expert Sergei Ermakov, in a conversation with RT, expressed the opinion that the EU deliberately joined the US game to drag out the conflict in Ukraine.

“Western countries want to undermine the potential of Russia, to deplete it so that the country ceases to play a leading role as a global power, and thereby prevent the strengthening of a multipolar world that does not meet their interests.

To achieve these goals, Ukraine is being used, which is being trained and set up for further confrontation with the Russian Federation, ”the analyst believes.

He also called the calls of European politicians for a peaceful settlement of the issue in Ukraine to be cunning and a political game.

“What kind of agreements between Russia and Ukraine can we talk about now, if it is obvious that they will only be of a tactical and temporary nature?

We have already passed the Minsk agreements.

In addition, in the West, in fact, they openly admit that they were preparing the Ukrainian military for a clash with Russia long before the current events.

The ongoing pumping of Ukraine with weapons and the training of its military personnel is an attempt to take revenge on the battlefield for the successful development of Russia and strengthening its authority in the international arena, ”the expert noted.

However, the further involvement of the European Union in the conflict is fraught with internal political upheavals and a weakening of the Commonwealth's security, Yermakov is sure.

“The risks for the EU, which are brought with it by the ever greater involvement of the union in the conflict, are the most direct.

This is a further undermining of stability in Europe, the destruction of the European security architecture and an increase in conflict in the world.

In fact, this is a course towards self-destruction, ”summed up the interlocutor of RT.