Following a briefing given on December 14 by the Belgian Ministry of Defense in Brussels, the latter has somewhat detailed its contribution to EUMAM (European Military Assistance Mission), the military assistance mission to Ukraine decided last month by the European Union, which should make it possible to train up to 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers to fight the Russian invasion, in particular by offering help with mine clearance, an old and strong specialty of the Belgian army.
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The Belgian army will provide Ukrainian soldiers with training in the field of mine clearing, one of its renowned specialties already demonstrated in various formerly war-torn countries like Laos and Cambodia (Picture source: mil.be)
The Belgian participation in the EUMAM (European Military Assistance Mission) will consist in providing personnel and means of communication to the headquarters of the UEMAM, based in Brussels and commanded by the French vice-admiral Hervé Bléjean. This officer chairs the MPCC (Military Planning and Conduct Capability, a component of the EU Military Staff).
As reported by Belga, Belgium is also ready to provide support – in terms of equipment and training – to the Ukrainian army in the field of demining (EOD), said the head of the Planning division within the Operations and Training Department (Ops&Trg) of the Defense Staff, Colonel Jan Maenhout. According to him, the Belgian Defense will also provide various training – which remains to be finalized during a meeting between Europeans in Germany – for the benefit of Ukrainian soldiers.
Among the offers of concrete contributions made by Belgium is, at a joint level, the provision of experts for the command and control center (C2) of EUMAM Ukraine. The Land Component (Land Force) would be responsible for combat training, in the fields of artillery, engineering, EOD, computers, logistics, military police and combat damage repair. The Navy would handle mine warfare training and mine awareness courses, while the Air component would provide support to the US-led Ukraine Military Assistance Coordination Center in Stuttgart. (Germany), the “International Donor Coordination Center” (IDCC). In the medical field, the Belgian Defense offers to provide courses in traumatology and special operations medicine, said Colonel Maenhout.
Belgium has already provided, within a bilateral framework and as early as March 2022, material aid to Ukraine, including 5,000 FNC assault rifles, FN M2 hevy machine guns, 200 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) M72 anti-tank weapons and night vision systems, as well as fuel. The Defense will also deliver two mobile medical laboratories and high-tech ROV7 underwater robots to Ukraine, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder recently announced.
