The European Union plans to train 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the spring of 2024, EU Military Committee Chairman Gen. Robert Brieger said on Saturday.
"We have already trained 34,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and by the spring of 2024, we plan to train 40,000 soldiers. To date, we have provided Ukraine with military assistance worth 27 billion euros [$29.4 billion]," Brieger was quoted as saying by the Estonian Defense Forces.
The EU should continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary, including with ammunition, weapons systems and training activities, Brieger added.
During the two-day visit to Estonia, Brieger met with Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, Defense Forces Commander Gen. Martin Herem, and representatives of the Estonian Foreign Ministry and the parliament. He also attended NATO's Cyber Coalition 2023 cybersecurity exercise held in Estonia earlier this week.
According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, as of December, Kiev’s troops lost more than 125,000 people and 16,000 weapons during the six-month counteroffensive.
Moreover, Shoigu emphasized that the supply of Western weapons and the deployment of strategic reserves by the Ukrainian command did not change the situation on the battlefield.
Earlier, the minister noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not achieve their goals in any of the directions.