EU extends EUMAM Ukraine training mission by two years; ministers fail to agree on new air-defense interceptors
EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels on 28 September, chaired by High Representative Kaja Kallas, approved a two-year extension of the EUMAM training mission for Ukraine as the first step of a strategic review. The Netherlands announced €10 million to modernise two Ukrainian training centres, joined by Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg. Ministers, however, did not reach agreement on additional deliveries of air-defence interceptor missiles to Ukraine, and Kallas put forward a proposed EU 'emergency protocol' for joint response to hybrid attacks that fall short of armed aggression.
Key points
- EUMAM mandate extended by two years on 28 September, framed by Kallas as the first step of a strategic review.
- Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg to finance modernisation of two Ukrainian military training centres.
- Netherlands contribution: €10 million for training-centre work on Ukrainian territory.
- EU defence ministers failed to agree on additional air-defence interceptor missile deliveries to Ukraine.
- Kaja Kallas announced the EU will propose an 'emergency protocol' for joint response to hybrid attacks below the armed-aggression threshold.
- EU has already approved €28.3 billion in defence procurement plans under a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, including Patriot interceptors from future US production.
- Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara joined the meeting by video conference and outlined Ukraine's priority defence needs.
Why it matters
The two-year EUMAM extension keeps the EU's main pipeline for training Ukrainian soldiers running through 2028 and opens a strategic review of the mission. The Dutch-led funding package for two Ukrainian training centres is a concrete step toward moving training infrastructure physically into Ukraine, although a strategic review has noted that relocating EUMAM training onto Ukrainian soil would presuppose a ceasefire or truce. The lack of agreement on new air-defence interceptors underlines the gap between the EU's €28.3 billion procurement programme already approved under the €90 billion loan and the political will to release interceptors from national stockpiles now. The proposed 'emergency protocol' would, if adopted, give the EU its own Article-4-style mechanism to coordinate responses to sabotage, cyberattacks and other hybrid operations that fall short of armed aggression — an urgency Kallas tied to intelligence suggesting Russia is preparing new sabotage operations in Europe aimed at weakening public support for Ukraine.
What happened
EU defence ministers gathered in Brussels on 28 September for a Foreign Affairs Council meeting chaired by High Representative Kaja Kallas. Ukraine's Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara joined by video conference and outlined Ukraine's priority needs. After the meeting, Kallas announced that ministers had agreed to extend the EUMAM Ukraine training mission by two years as the first step of a strategic review; roughly 97,000 Ukrainian personnel have been trained under EUMAM since November 2022 by 24 member states, and the current mandate had been set to expire on 15 November 2026. She also said the Netherlands would allocate €10 million to modernise two Ukrainian military training centres, completing a funding package that includes Germany, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg. Kallas thanked the Netherlands for closing what she called a funding gap. On air defence, Kallas reported that ministers did not reach agreement on additional deliveries of interceptor missiles to Ukraine, despite a €28.3 billion procurement plan already approved under the EU's €90 billion Ukraine support loan, which includes the purchase of Patriot interceptors from future US production. She also said the EU will propose an 'emergency protocol' to allow member states to coordinate joint responses to hybrid attacks that fall below the threshold of armed aggression, an idea first presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 16 September as an EU analogue of NATO Article 4. She added that the EU will continue building a coordination cell in Kyiv focused on battlefield lessons and military education, and stressed the need to step up countermeasures against the Russian shadow fleet, noting that EU Operation Irini had conducted six inspections of suspect vessels in recent months.
Where reporting differs
Ukrainian sources differ on the date of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in defence-ministers format and of the EUMAM mandate extension: one outlet dates both to 18 September, while the majority of Ukrainian sources, including Ukrinform, Novynarnia, LIGA.net, Yevropeiska Pravda and Radio Liberty, place the meeting and the extension announcement on 28 September.
Background
EUMAM was created in November 2022 to train Ukrainian military personnel; its mandate was previously extended in November 2024 until 15 November 2026, and by EU Council figures about 97,000 Ukrainian service members have been trained under the mission by 24 member states. On 25 September EU member states agreed on conditions for allocating €6.6 billion to Ukraine from the European Peace Fund, of which €900 million is directed to EUMAM and €1 billion to broader Ukrainian support. The 'emergency protocol' idea was first presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 16 September in her State of the Union address, framed as an EU analogue of NATO Article 4. A strategic review of EUMAM noted that three training centres already exist in western Ukraine but are not operating at full capacity because of lacking infrastructure and qualified external instructors, and that relocating EUMAM training into Ukraine would presuppose a ceasefire or other form of truce. In August, President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated Ukraine's 2026 defence budget shortfall at €27 billion, and on 18 September Ukraine received €3.3 billion from the EU for drones and missiles.