On May 27 a team of Lithuanian military instructors, four in service with the Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment and four - with the Division General Stasys Raštikis Lithuanian Armed Forces School, was deployed to Ukraine. The Lithuanian military instructors will arrange a 12-week basic course for professional soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and familiarise them with the model of the Mandatory Initial Military Service used in the Lithuanian Armed Forces in hope that Ukrainian military will learn from and apply Lithuania's experience for training their troops.
Commander of the Training Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Aleksiejus Gaiževskis wished for the deployed soldiers upon presenting a national and a historical flags of Lithuania to "represent the state and the name of a soldier of Lithuania with honour as you share your knowledge and skills with Ukrainian soldiers like true professionals."
Lithuanian military instructors are deployed to Ukraine on the basis of the agreement on development and implementation of training and advisory programmes signed by Minister Juozas Olekas and Minister Army General Stepan Poltorak on behalf of Lithuanian and Ukrainian Ministries of Defence on April 18, 2016, in Kiev.
The mission of the Training Regiment is to carry out the Basic Military Service Course to train soldiers capable of completing individual assignments in peace time and in combat, ready for armed state defence in terms of theory and practice.
Lithuania has been actively supporting independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine since the beginning of Russian aggression. Lithuania has been rendering all types of possible legal assistance, including military, ever since.
The input of the Lithuanian Armed Forces to the U.S.-led training programme for the Ukrainian military, the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, is a part of Lithuanian assistance. Ukrainian soldiers are also invited to attend courses at the main military training institutions of Lithuania, also, our country is co-financing Ukrainian soldiers' studies at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu with other Baltic States.
Two shifts of Lithuanian military instructors assisted in training the National Guard of Ukraine in 2014. Since November 2105 Lithuanian soldiers have been training regular units of Ukraine alongside NATO allies. Paramedics of the Lithuanian Armed Forces helped training Ukrainian counterparts together with the United States.
