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(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, FEB 1 - The European Union is doubling
the number of Ukrainian troops it aims to train to 30,000 as it
seeks to bolster Kyiv's fightback against Russia, EU officials
said Wednesday. The 27-nation bloc set up a programme for
Ukrainian forces in November with the initial target of training
15,000. "This will be reached probably before the end of the
second quarter of this year and there will be a new additional
target of a further 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained by various
European countries," an EU official said. "So that will bring
the number of Ukrainian soldiers trained in this scheme to
30,000." The increased figure -- to be formally announced at an
EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on Friday -- comes as European allies
step up their military support. (ANSA-AFP).
