EU Defense Ministers Discuss More Military Support For Ukraine

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (KUNA) -- European Union Defence Ministers discussed on Tuesday EU support to Ukraine, after a brief video message from the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Rustem Umierov during their formal meeting in Brussels.
According to an EU statement released after the meeting, EU High Representative Josep Borrell underlined the need to urgently agree on further military support to Ukraine, to address its immediate needs in terms of air defence, training, ammunition and winter equipment, and thereby allow for its defence against Russia.
The ministerial discussion then focused on longer-term security commitments to Ukraine about the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), which has already reached its objective of training 30.000 Ukrainian soldiers, and now aims at training 10.000 more.
In this context, Borrell confirmed that implementation was ongoing and member states were committed and united in supporting Ukraine for as long as needed.
Borrel updated the ministers on EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations, and the impact of a changing geopolitical environment on them.
The debate focused, among others, on the Sahel, where the EU will support the coastal states of the Gulf of Guinea in their response to counter the spill over of the terrorist threat, and the EU military operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the mandate of EUFOR ALTHEA was prolonged for another year.
EU Defence Ministers held an informal working breakfast with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, and discussed the resilience of critical infrastructure and the ability of EU and NATO to respond to these new threats, against the backdrop of several recent security incidents in the Baltic Sea. (end)
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