Borrell: 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained by end of March

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on Wednesday that the EU will train 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the end of the month, and 30,000 by the end of the year. "To win the peace, Ukraine needs to win the war," he said at a press conference after an informal defense ministers' meeting in Sweden.

Borrell stressed the EU must provide a new support package to Ukraine, which will allow for the immediate delivery of ammunition from the existing stocks, adding that he proposed a figure of €1 billion from the European Peace Facility. In addition, he said the EU must address increasing the defense industry capacity in order to continue supporting Ukraine and its domestic militaries. "If member states receive guarantees they can replenish their stocks... because the European defense industry will ramp up its capacities, they would be more ready to help Ukraine," he said.