Soldiers with the Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion and U.S. troops further train members of the Ukrainian National Guard. On September 14 soldiers of Birutė Battalion replaced troops of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Kęstutis Mechanised Infantry Battalion who had been raining the Ukrainian National Guard since July.
The Lithuanian team comprising five specialists of Birutė Battalion will train Ukrainian local forces and conduct live fire exercises.
The training will be conducted according to a 5-step rifleman training programme of the Lithuanian Armed Forces which includes individual training, advanced training , various levels of firing training, weapon handling tests, and field exercises with live rounds.
Soldiers of Birutė Battalion will be training Ukrainian counterparts for two months. The Lithuanian Armed Forces has plans for continued training of Ukrainian military personnel both in Lithuania and Ukraine with regard to the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Lithuania is contributing military instructors to the U.S.-led training programme for the National Guard of Ukraine.
The project is a part of the U.S.-led Fearless Guardian programme for training and equipping several units of the Ukrainian National Guard over six months.
Lithuania's contribution to Fearless Guardian is just a part of the assistance our country is giving Ukraine. Ukrainian officers, NCOs and soldiers attend various courses in Lithuanian Armed Forces' training institutions. This March-April Lithuanian paramedics rendered medical assistance and contributed to training Ukrainian paramedics alongside U.S. soldiers.
Moreover, injured participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) are treated at the Military Rehabilitation Centre and civilian healthcare institutions of Lithuania. Lithuania cooperated with Ukraine by providing training for Ukrainian personnel in Lithuania, organising joint military exercises, establishing a joint Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian brigade, etc.
POC - Capt Liutauras Mickevičius , Head of S5 Section, Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion HQ, mobile phone no. 00370 686 80335.
Photo from the archive of Birutė Battalion: Lithuanian and Ukrainian troops in international Exercise Rapid Trident in Ukraine this spring.
