BRUSSELS, November 14. /TASS/. The EU foreign ministers are expected to decide on the launch of an EU mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers. On Monday, they will also consider tougher sanctions against Iran for the suppression of unrest, discuss the situation in the Balkans and the foreign policy aspects of the UN International Climate Conference.
Mission for preparation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
As a source in the EU Foreign Service told reporters on Friday, the EU Council will make a formal decision on launching a mission to support [Ukraine] and on the procedure for its financing. The mission will be called EUMAM Ukraine (EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine). The decision to create such a mission was made a month ago, on October 17.
As EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell reported at the time, the EU mission should provide training for 15,000 Ukrainian military. The mission is designed for 24 months and €106.7 million should be allocated for its needs.
According to the EU Foreign Service, the mission will provide individual, collective and special training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and territorial defense units. It will also ensure the coordination of the efforts of individual EU states, which will train the Ukrainian military to conduct military operations against Russia on a bilateral basis.
It is assumed that the EU training bases for the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be located on the territory of Germany and Poland. The possibility of connecting other states to the training of combat groups is being considered.
Sanctions against Iran
The ministers also intend to approve additional sanctions against Iran for the actions of the authorities to suppress protests in that country. At the moment, the European Union has imposed sanctions against 11 individuals and four legal entities of Iran.
Iran has seen more than a month of unabated unrest that began after the funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died on September 16. According to the official version, the police detained Amini for improperly wearing her headscarf. During interrogation, she suffered a heart attack from which she died. However, social media reports claimed she had been brutally beaten by policemen. On October 7, Iran’s National Forensic Medicine Organization released an official statement on the causes of the girl's death, stating that she had suffered no injuries.