Kallas: EU Plans to Train Ukrainian Troops on Ukrainian Soil

February 13 ------ EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said that the bloc is exploring the possibility of training Ukrainian soldiers on Ukrainian soil in the event of a ceasefire.

EU defense ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday for a meeting chaired by Kallas, who previously said that ministers would discuss “how we can further support Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s newly-appointed Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, was also in attendance. “On the table are proposals to establish two training facilities inside Ukraine and to mobilize additional private capital through the European Investment Bank,” Kallas said on X.

In her remarks to the press before the meeting, she said that two potential locations had already been identified. An unnamed EU official reportedly told AFP that work on the facilities could begin even before the fighting stops – although Russia has previously said that it would treat any European troops in Ukraine as “legitimate targets.”

The EU had trained more than 86,000 Ukrainian soldiers as of January 2026, the EU’s diplomatic service reported last month, describing this effort as a “testament to sustained European support and solidarity in helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

During her remarks to the press before Wednesday’s meeting, Kallas said it was “important” to remember that Russia is not winning its war in Ukraine – pointing to its surging casualty rates and struggling wartime economy. “We are discussing what more we do in order to help Ukraine, but there’s also a lot we have to learn from them, when it comes to defense innovation, and how to ramp up our defense spending really fast,” she said.

Recent months have seen disagreement at the highest levels about how to ensure Europe’s future defense. French President Emmanuel Macron is among the most vocal of those European leaders who favor ending the continent’s decades-long security dependence on the US.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in contrast, has called for the “division of labor” between NATO and the EU, which was established as an economic bloc rather than a military one, to be clearly maintained. The EU’s stance lies somewhere between these two points of view. Also on Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted a report on the EU’s strategic defense and security partnerships.

Although the report supports the establishment of “a stronger EU defense pillar to enable the EU to act autonomously if necessary,” it reiterates that NATO is “the cornerstone of collective defense.” “It is in the EU’s fundamental interest to deepen our partnership with Ukraine, including in the defense industry and in innovation,” it adds.

Source: kyivpost.com