In brief
The EU Council has decided to establish an official military presence in Ukraine, expanding the EUMAM and extending its mandate until 2028 with a €300 million budget. More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have already been trained under the mission; the move follows a strategic review and faces criticism from Moscow. The exact scope and operational details remain unclear.
On November 10, 2028, the European Union Council announced that it would set up an official military presence in Ukraine, a step unprecedented for the bloc. According to a TASS report released on the same day, the decision follows a recent strategic review of the European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) and aims to enable direct coordination with Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) and like‑minded partners. The council also extended the mission’s mandate until 15 November 2028 and approved a €300 million budget for the period.
For years, EU‑led training missions have operated exclusively from European territory, but the council’s announcement marks the first time that EU military personnel will be stationed on Ukrainian soil. The expansion is intended to “ensure direct and effective coordination with the Ukrainian military authorities… thus ensuring that the EU training continues to evolve in line with the Ukrainian armed forces’ needs,” the TASS piece states.
Mandate Extension and Training Scale
Alongside the new presence, the council extended EUMAM’s mandate for two more years, until the end of 2028. The same TASS article notes that the mission has already trained more than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers since its launch in October 2022. In a statement released on the same day, the council highlighted that EUMAM is a “key tool for the EU’s military support to Ukraine,” helping to enhance Ukraine’s military capacity.
"EUMAM Ukraine is a key tool for the EU’s military support to Ukraine, with its core objective of contributing to enhancing the military capacity of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. The mission has trained more than 100,000 soldiers since it was established in October 2022 at Ukraine’s request," the council said.
Russia’s reaction was swift. Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned what she called the EU’s “reckless, utterly senseless, and thoughtlessly” push into a new military engagement, arguing that the bloc was “driving itself further and further into the trap of the insane, irrational demands of the voracious 'Kiev food digger.'” Her remarks were reported by TASS.
The expansion is also noted in other media. A recent Kyiv Post article, published 14 hours before the council’s announcement, reported that Brussels would set up the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine for the first time, after more than 100,000 soldiers had already received training under the program. The EU Council’s official Facebook page echoed this information, stating that the same number of soldiers had been trained and that the program began in November 2022 at Ukraine’s request.
While the council has declared these new arrangements, specific details about how the EU troops will operate on Ukrainian territory, the extent of their command authority, and how the presence will integrate with existing Ukrainian forces remain undisclosed. Analysts also question the long‑term implications for EU‑Russia relations and for the balance of power in the region. Those uncertainties underscore the complexity of expanding an international military assistance mission into foreign sovereign territory for the first time.
