BRUSSELS, August 22. /TASS/.The European Union is discussing the issue of creating a mission for the training of Ukrainian soldiers in one of the neighboring countries, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said at a press conference in Spain.
"This will be an important mission. Any mission should be at the conflict’s level. This is not a small war," he said in an address aired by the website of the European Commission.
Replying to a journalist’s question as to where the mission will be set up, the official said: "This won’t be in Ukraine but in a neighboring country. We are not going to do this on Ukrainian soil."
It is expected that the issue of launching this mission will be discussed at an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Prague on August 29.
The situation at the Donbass engagement line flared up on February 17. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a decision to recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual aid were signed with their leaders. On February 22, the State Duma and the Federation Council ratified both documents and Putin signed the respective laws on the same day. The Russian president said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.