Photo by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
According to the press service department, as reported by UNIAN, as of May 25, 2006, 662 Ukrainian servicemen are carrying out tasks of UN, NATO and the coalition of Multinational Forces missions in the territories of nine countries of the world.
Ukraine began its peacekeeping activity as an independent state in 1992 by sending the 240th separate peacekeeping battalion to the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Two years later, Ukraine joined the NATO program “Partnership for Peace”, one of the most important directions of which is the participation of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in peacekeeping operations. Over almost 14 years of its peacekeeping activity, Ukraine, in terms of the volume of tasks, entered the top twenty of the most active peacekeeping states.
As noted by the Defense Ministry, the main burden of forming, preparing and sending peacekeeping contingents is borne by the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since 1992, more than 25 units of battalion, company and helicopter detachment level have been sent outside the country. More than 3,000 units of various equipment (transporters, loaders) were involved, as well as 38 helicopters.
Over 14 years of peacekeeping activity, Ukraine lost 45 of its citizens. About 100 more servicemen were wounded.
The geography of tasks is also wide, the Defense Ministry noted. These include the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Eastern Slavonia, Kosovo), the Middle and Near East (Southern Lebanon, Iraq), and the African continent (Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia). As of today, the grouping of Ukrainian peacekeeping contingents is represented in Liberia and Kosovo and includes 562 servicemen. Another 100 Ukrainian servicemen work as peacekeeping mission personnel in Georgia, Sudan, Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Iraq, Lebanon, Transnistria, Liberia and Kosovo.