< p>Austria will not participate in the Ukrainian military training program to avoid risks to the country's declared position of neutrality.
Austria supports Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but remains neutral and concentrates its efforts on humanitarian and financial assistance.
Will the country expand aspects of assistance to Ukraine, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in an interview with Ukrinform.
“Given our neutrality, we concentrate our support on the humanitarian and macro-financial aspects. With regard to mine action, we have allocated more than 7 million euros, which have been distributed through organizations such as the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and OSCE. We will continue this support,” noted the Austrian minister.
He added that the Austrian federal constitution clearly distinguishes between military equipment, lethal equipment and humanitarian support.
“My Ukrainian friends also know about this and have no complaints against us. They recognize that we are doing what we can within the framework of our constitution,” Schallenberg emphasized.
He added that he knows about the efforts of a number of European countries to train the Ukrainian military on their territory. There are also discussions about the possibility of moving the exercises to the territory of Ukraine.
“This decision should be made by these countries [who carry out the training – ed.]. What worries me about this issue is the transfer of the exercises to the territory of Ukraine. What will happen if these people [military instructors – ed.] get hurt or even die as a result of the attack? Will this then be considered an attack on a Western European country or a NATO country?,” Schallenberg asked rhetorically.
According to him, it is precisely because of such fears that Austria will not participate in the training program for the Ukrainian military. Vienna plans to continue to focus on reconstruction and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.
Recall that the United States is providing Ukraine with a new aid package worth $200 million. It will include air defense systems, shells for HIMARS and Javelin.
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