Brussels, Feb 12 (V7N): European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that Brussels is considering using bases inside Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops if a deal is reached to halt the ongoing war with Russia.

Speaking at a meeting of EU defence ministers, Kallas said discussions are underway about conducting training activities on Ukrainian soil.

“We have been discussing the training of the Ukrainian soldiers, also on the soil of Ukraine,” she said. “We have identified two training centres that could be used for that purpose,” though she did not disclose further details.

The EU has indicated that training Ukrainian forces within their own country could form part of broader Western security guarantees under any potential agreement to end Russia’s four-year war.

So far, the 27-member bloc has trained approximately 90,000 Ukrainian soldiers on EU territory through a coordinated European training mission.

According to an EU official, renovation work at the identified training facilities in Ukraine could begin even before active hostilities fully cease.

Meanwhile, several European allies of Ukraine — notably Britain and France — have expressed willingness to deploy their own troops to Ukraine if diplomatic efforts led by the United States succeed in ending the conflict.

Russia has strongly opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, warning that it would consider such forces a “legitimate target.”

END/WD/RH