The move was announced by the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on Thursday, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
Borrell said EU member states intended to train an additional 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in 2023, doubling an existing 15,000 troop-training programme, the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), launched last October.
In addition to the EUR 45 million plan, the EU on Thursday confirmed a further EUR 500 million in weapons for Ukraine, taking the total assistance from the bloc under the European Peace Facility to EUR 3.6 billion, according to the Ukrinform news agency.
Borrell said: “Ukraine should get all the necessary military equipment and training it needs to defend its territory and its people from Russia’s war of aggression. They are not just defending their country; they are also defending our common values and the basic principles of international law.”
He added: Today’s new measures send a clear message at a crucial time: we will continue supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes and as long as it is needed.”
EU commissioners visit Kyiv to reaffirm EU support for Ukraine
Borrell’s statement came as top EU officials, led by Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the bloc's executive European Commission, arrived on a two-day visit to Kyiv as a show of support to war-torn Ukraine.
The visit brought a flurry of announcements from the European bloc, aimed at showing it will “stand by Ukraine for the long haul,” news outlets reported.
Von der Leyen promised to slap Russia with a new, 10th package of EU sanctions by February 24, marking the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, according to Euronews.
Moreover, von der Leyen reiterated that the EU would cap the price of Russian petroleum products, as part of a wider G7 plan to limit oil revenues available to Moscow’s war machine, Euronews also reported.
Previously, the G7 and the EU had agreed on a price cap on crude oil that came into force in December 2022 and, according to von der Leyen, costs Russia EUR 160 million a day.
New centre in The Hague to gather evidence of Russian crimes
Von der Leyen also said the EU intended to work with Ukrainian prosecutors to set up an international centre for the prosecution of the crime of aggression in Ukraine to be located in The Hague, The Netherlands, The Guardian reported.
This centre would be tasked with collecting and storing evidence for any future trial, whether that took place through a special tribunal or some other way, according to officials.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament on Thursday voted in support of a roadmap for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, Euromaidan Press reported.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said he wanted Ukraine to join the EU in two years, according to news reports.
Friday is day 345 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: The Guardian, consilium.europa.eu, ukrinform.net, Euronews, euromaidanpress.com