European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine
| European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) | |
|---|---|
| Part of the foreign aid to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
 | |
| Operational scope | EUMAM Ukraine will provide individual, collective and specialised training to Ukraine's Armed Forces, including to their Territorial Defence Forces, and coordination and synchronisation of member states' activities supporting the delivery of training.[1] |
| Location | European Union territory |
| Planned by | Military Planning and Conduct Capability, Military Staff, External Action Service (Kortenberg building, Brussels, Belgium) |
| Commanded by | Vice Admiral Hervé Bléjean (Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability) |
| Objective | To contribute to enhancing the military capability of Ukraine's Armed Forces to effectively conduct military operations, in order to allow Ukraine to defend its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, effectively exercise its sovereignty and protect civilians.[1] |
| Date | 17 October 2022 – present |
The European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine[1] (EUMAM Ukraine) is the European Union's (EU) first military assistance mission for Ukraine set up on 17 October 2022. The decision to establish EUMAM was made by the Council of the European Union in response to Ukraine's request for military support during the ongoing Russian invasion of the country. The primary aim of the mission is to provide training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the territory of the EU member states.
Background
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The diplomatic framework for the establishment of the EUMAM Ukraine was created by the 23–24 June 2022 EU's statement on its commitment to providing "military support to help Ukraine exercise its inherent right of self-defence against the Russian aggression" and the 30 September 2022 official letter by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defense of Ukraine to the High Representative, requesting military support.[2] The European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine to support reforms in civilian security sector has been active since 2014.[3]
Mission
[edit]The EUMAM Ukraine envisages individual, collective and specialized training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including to their Territorial Defense Forces, and coordination and synchronization of the EU member states' activities supporting the delivery of training. EUMAM Ukraine will operate in the territory of the EU member states, with its Operational Headquarters within the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels. The French naval officer, Vice Admiral Hervé Bléjean—the incumbent Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability within the EEAS—was appointed the Mission Commander. The EUMAM's mandate will initially last two years, with the financial reference amount of 106,7 million euros.[2]
The integration of the training components to create formed units takes place in a multinational Combined Arms Training Command (CAT-C) established in Poland under the command of the Polish Major General Piotr Trytek.[4] A multinational Special Training Command (MN ST-C) under the command of the German Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow commands training activities in Germany to further enhance the training offer in full coordination with CAT-C. Other Member States provide specific training across Europe.
EUMAM works closely together with all other like-minded international partners to provide training support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. All mission activities are located on EU soil.[5]
There are also broader implications for the militaries involved in the training of Ukrainians. For instance, German instructors operating under the EUMAM training mandate have described how they do not have the doctrine or training manuals to properly train Ukrainian soldiers.[6] In other cases, Polish advisors at the CAT-C have described how they have become more flexible to their training approach to help the Ukrainians be more militarily effective, while also using this experience to improve their own doctrine and training manuals.[7] Both of these writings indicate how the EU is demonstrating strategic autonomy by training and equipping more Ukrainian forces outside of formalistic NATO frameworks. Hence, that is why there are growing arguments for the insertion of EU-flagged advisors to deploy to Ukraine to train them on Ukrainian soil, because such a EUMAM operation would be unaffiliated with NATO.[8]
See also
[edit]- Ukraine–European Union relations
- Operation Interflex
- Operation Unifier
- Ukraine Defense Contact Group
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Ukraine: EU sets up a military assistance mission to further support the Ukrainian Armed Forces".
- ^ a b "Ukraine: EU sets up a military assistance mission to further support the Ukrainian Armed Forces". www.consilium.europa.eu. Council of the EU and the European Council. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "About Us — EUAM Ukraine". EUAM Ukraine. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "Polish general chosen to lead EU training mission for Ukrainian troops". Reuters. 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
- ^ "Factsheet European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM)" (PDF). European Union. 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
- ^ Jahara Matisek, Sascha E. Ostanina & William Reno, "What Does European Union Advising of Ukrainian Troops Mean for the Bloc’s Security Policies? An Inside Look at the Training Mission." Modern War Institute, 11 June 2024.
- ^ Alexandra Chinchilla, Jahara Matisek and William Reno, "The Polish Experiment in Military Advising: Improving the European Union Training Mission to Ukraine," Modern War Institute, 14 October 2024.
- ^ Alex Crowther, Jahara Matisek & Phillips P. O’Brien, "Europe—but Not NATO—Should Send Troops to Ukraine." Foreign Affairs, 22 April 2024.
