Austria will not join the EU mission to train Ukrainian military personnel, but supports it, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters, Ria Novosti reports.
“We support this mission… but participation is not currently planned,” the minister said.
He added that, from his point of view, such work is necessary.
According to Schallenberg, the question of the future participation of Austria in this mission is still open, “we have seen in recent months that a lot is changing, we will constantly monitor this.” The minister added that Austria would continue to supply Ukraine with protective equipment, but “not lethal, military weapons,” because “this is contrary to the position of neutrality.”
At their regular meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the EU foreign ministers plan to approve a new tranche of financial assistance for the Ukrainian army, as well as launch a training mission to train the Ukrainian military. Military training may start in mid-November, the project budget has already been agreed. At present, the issue of which countries will participate in the project and who will send their instructors to work in the mission is underway. In just two years, it is planned to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Russia has previously sent a note to NATO countries because of the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia.
The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.
