On November 29 Chief of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Maj Gen Vitalijus Vaikšnoras is visiting Ukraine, Kyiv, and attending meetings of the Multinational Joint Commission which coordinates international support to the reform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is accompanied by Head of the Military Training Command J7 of the Defence Staff Col Vilmas Šatas.
In a speech Maj Gen V. Vaikšnoras thanked the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the openness when admitting instructors and military advisors from the Lithuanian Armed Forces and underscored the importance of professional military training reform.
"We understand that the professional military training reform is a long-term goal. It is difficult to expect quick victories when working towards it but we need solutions today already. At the same time, the reform will not only allow to achieve better military training results but will also bring you closer to NATO military training requirements," Maj Gen V. Vaikšnoras said.
The Multinational Joint Commission meetings address Ukraine's defence and military reforms, assess progress, provide recommendations for the Armed Forces of Ukraine that seeks better interoperability with NATO militaries, also, address future plans and coordinate joint support.
The Multinational Joint Commission includes representatives of Ukraine, Denmark, U.S., UK, Canada, Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden, its work is done in several sub-committees. Lithuania takes part in Sub-committees on the Army, Special Operations Forces, and Military Police, and leads Sub-committees on the NCO Reform and the Professional Military Training Reform. The latter was established by Lithuania's proposal in May 2018. Lithuanian's lead of the two sub-committees entails our commitment to participate and provide leadership to the reforms in both areas.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces support Ukraine's reform, particularly in the area of military training. Lithuanian military instructors, independently and together with colleagues from the U.S., Canada, UK, and Poland, have been taking part in the programme for training battalions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Special Operations Forces and Military Police training, and actively contributing to the NCO system re-organisation and professional military training since 2014.
With regard to steadily increasing involvement of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in the training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the Training Mission in Ukraine was established in July 2017. Its mandate allows to deploy up to 60 Lithuanian soldiers to Ukraine in 2017-2019 for training the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moreover, Ukrainian military personnel are continuously invited to study at Lithuania's military education institutions - Military Academy of Lithuania, Lithuanian Armed Forces School, Lithuania finances studies of Ukrainian officers at the Baltic Defence College, arranges different training courses for Ukrainian soldiers at units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
At the moment servicemembers with King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion are deployed to Ukraine as part of the U.S.- led Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine). Lithuanian troops and our allies are helping to develop training of an infantry company, automatic grenade launchers platoon, snipers, and a battalion staff.
PAO for the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Maj Tomas Balkus, +370 5 219 6401, +370 686 28035, tomas.balkus@mil.lt
