A European Union training mission for Ukrainian soldiers is expected to start at the end of November. The mission’s operational headquarters will be located in Poland. “The EU training mission for Ukrainian soldiers will operate in Poland, Germany and any other country that will take on such responsibility”, said the head of Polish diplomacy Zbigniew Rau after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

The mission is to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers. It involves basic training as well as specialised and combined training, including command tactics, medical, engineering, sapper services, and the training of light infantry and territorial defence troops.

Minister Rau said that the Ukrainians need to be prepared for combat, but all evidence suggests that they are very well prepared. “This is a very professional armed force in today’s Europe. Many countries, including the larger ones, would gladly swap with Ukraine today for its armed forces”, added the head of Polish diplomacy.

„In addition to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the main topics of the meeting of the heads of diplomacy of the EU countries were the situation in the Great Lakes Region and the Western Balkan countries”, said Łukasz Jasina, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a discussion on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Minister Rau stressed that the only way to end the war is a victory for Ukraine, for which further deliveries of military equipment and air defence are necessary.

In the part of the meeting concerning the EU’s relations with the Western Balkans region, the head of Polish diplomacy spoke about the need to support the countries of the region in combating the negative consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Minister underlined the importance of the EU enlargement process as the most effective tool to enhance stability and security not only of the Western Balkan region, but also of the EU itself.

Adrian Andrzejewski