EUMAM Ukraine: the EU extends the training of Ukrainian troops to 2028 – what changes with a presence inside Ukraine

The European Union’s training of Ukrainian soldiers will continue for another two years, this time with a European presence inside Ukraine itself. On Monday, November 9 the EU Council decided to extend the mandate of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) until November 15, 2028, with a budget of almost 300 million euros for the two years, as it announced in a press release.

The extension comes with changes that emerged from the mission’s strategic review. The most significant is the creation of a EUMAM presence in Ukraine. From there the mission will coordinate directly with Ukrainian military authorities, the country’s Armed Forces and international partners, so that European programmes adapt to needs that change at the front. Until now training took place exclusively on the territory of member states.

The mandate itself is also broadened. The experience Ukrainians gain in combat will play a larger role in the curriculum, while the mission will put more weight on developing military training that serves Kyiv’s defence goals. EUMAM will continue to cooperate with the US, Britain, Canada and Norway, with the Coalition of the Willing, which is holding its first major exercise in Poland these days, as we reported, and with NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command (NSATU).

From 15,000 to more than 100,000

The mission began in October 2022, at Kyiv’s request, with an initial target of training 15,000 troops. Four years later the Council estimates that more than 100,000 Ukrainians have gone through its programmes. The two main training command centres are in Poland and Germany, while the mission also coordinates member states’ national programmes. Courses range from basic training of recruits to unit and specialist training.

At the previous renewal, in November 2024, Europeans had committed almost 409 million euros for the two years. Funding comes from the European Peace Facility, a fund outside the EU’s common budget; the EU Council recently mobilised 4.9 billion euros for Ukraine under the same instrument. What is taught in practice is shown by the French contribution: the French Armed Forces Ministry reports that its instructors in Poland focus on the drone threat, camouflage and trench warfare.

The decision had been foreshadowed by High Representative Kaja Kallas in late September, when she spoke of member states agreeing on a two-year extension and a coordination team in Kyiv for battlefield experience and military training. She said then that the funding gap for modernising two training centres inside Ukraine had also been covered, with contributions from the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg. She was recently in Warsaw, where she warned that the EU will not implement a deal it is not party to.