Defense Post
February 2, 2023

EU Doubles to 30,000 Number of Ukraine Troops to Train

The European Union is doubling the number of Ukrainian troops it aims to train to 30,000 as it seeks to bolster Kyiv’s fightback against Russia, EU officials said Wednesday.

The 27-nation bloc set up a program for Ukrainian forces in November with the initial target of training 15,000.

“This will be reached probably before the end of the second quarter of this year and there will be a new additional target of a further 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained by various European countries,” an EU official said.

“So that will bring the number of Ukrainian soldiers trained in this scheme to 30,000.”

***

Several EU nations have pledged to provide German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv and are already training Ukrainian troops to use them.

***

The EU training is being carried out across multiple European countries, with its headquarters in Ukraine’s neighbor Poland.

***

The United States, Britain and other international backers of Ukraine have in addition trained thousands of troops.