Germany and Spain plan to train thousands of Ukrainian soldiers as part of a European Union program to help bolster Kyiv’s fight against Russia, authorities in the two countries said on Tuesday, La Razon reported, citing Rador.

Their assistance is in addition to statements already made by other EU countries that they will train Ukrainian military personnel on their territory.

The European Union is launching the largest military training mission in its history, the purpose of which is to prepare about 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers for combat operations.

The main center of the mission will be in Poland, a country neighboring Ukraine, and the auxiliary headquarters will be located in Germany.

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said at a meeting with her EU colleagues in Brussels that Berlin plans to train 5,000 Ukrainians in a “broad range of skills” by June 2023.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles has assured that Spain will train 400 soldiers every two months for a total capacity of 2,400 per year.

She said that in the central city of Toledo, training facilities have already been established to house the troops.

Last month, France announced that it would train up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

Great Britain, Canada and the United States – all NATO members – have already trained Ukrainian troops on British soil and at a US base in Germany.

The initial duration of the EU training mission is two years and is expected to cost approximately €60 million per year.

The money comes from the bloc’s European Peace Fund, a fund that has been hit hard by having to cover the costs of supplying arms from EU member states to Ukraine.

The defense ministers discussed whether to strengthen the fund, since 3.1 billion euros – out of the total budget of 5.7 billion euros until 2027 – has already been allocated for armaments of Ukraine.

In Brussels, they say that together with supplies from individual member states, the European Union has provided Ukraine with weapons and military equipment worth a total of eight billion euros. This amount is about 45% of the value of arms supplies by the United States.

Kyiv’s European supporters were encouraged by the recent liberation of the key city of Kherson from Russian forces and pledged to maintain their support.

“This means that the aid that Ukraine receives – weapons, as well as training – can be seen on the battlefield,” explained the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren.

“This means that Ukraine has a very good military strategy. Therefore, I believe that this is extremely important, and it means that we should continue to support Ukraine,” he insisted.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who also attended the defense ministers’ meeting, said the “highly sophisticated” nature of modern weapons and tactics required that the armies using them “be fully trained”. Borrell welcomed the offensive of the Ukrainian army.

“Russian troops are withdrawing. The war is taking a completely different turn than (Russian President Vladimir) Putin could have imagined when he attacked Ukraine nine months ago,” he added.

The Czechs plan to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers

The Czech government plans to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers over the next year, Czech Defense Minister Yana Chernokhova said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The training will take place in five four-week cycles involving up to 800 soldiers and will cost 975 million crowns ($41.60 million), the Ministry of Defense said.