Borrell: Europe is divided over sending military trainers to Ukraine

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The European Union's foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday that European countries were divided over sending military trainers to Ukraine, pointing out that the Union's defense ministers, who met in Brussels, discussed transferring part of the bloc's training program to Ukraine.

Borrell added after the talks: “A discussion was raised, but there is no clear common European position on that... that is, no consensus.” He pointed out that the supporters considered that sending trainers to Ukraine would make the training closer to a “war scenario.”

The European official said: “You know that viewpoints differ between twenty-seven countries (in the European Union),” adding that “things may change.”

On the other hand, the opponents said that great risks might arise from sending military forces to Ukraine, according to what was reported by the European Union foreign policy official. European Union countries trained 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers on their territory as part of a mission formed in 2022.

French President Emmanuel Macron broke a taboo earlier this month when he talked about the possibility of sending Western forces to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Army Commander, Oleksandr Sersky, also stated on Monday that discussions are underway regarding sending French military trainers to his country.

Macron's position won the support of the Baltic states and Poland, which is considered one of Ukraine's closest allies in the European Union, but countries - such as Germany - opposed the move, which they fear would drag them into a direct conflict with Russia.