Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas underscored that cooperation in military training is one of Lithuania's priorities in rendering assistance to Ukraine in its process of armed forces' modernisation and national security and defence sector reform. The cooperation with Ukraine aims to assist the country in rearranging its military so that it corresponds to NATO standards and in increasing its interoperability with militaries of NATO allies, all of which amounts to the development of modern and efficient armed forces capable of delivering reliable deterrence and defence.
Several more officers of the Lithuanian Special Operations Forces are providing consultations to representatives of the General Staff of Ukraine and leadership of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces' units on the development and organisation of special operations forces.
"The role of special operations forces has grown amidst the current security situation and hybrid threats, therefore we will give more focus to multinational initiatives aimed at assisting training the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces as we cooperate with Ukraine insecurity and defence area," Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas said.
"Lithuanian Special Operations Forces personnel have earned a reputation of particularly qualified troops in various international operations and exercises. Moreover, Lithuania is one of the few NATO countries that have special operations forces in the form of a separate service. I am certain that the experience of the Lithuanian Special Operations Forces in developing the force and serving in multinational operations will be really relevant and useful for the transformation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In the meanwhile, the deployment to the training programme in Ukraine is none the less beneficial for Lithuanian military as it provides them with opportunities to learn responding to hybrid threats from the direct experience of their Ukrainian counterparts and to apply the lessons learnt in the Lithuanian armed Forces," Minister J.Olekas commented.
Lithuania also contributes instructors with the Lithuanian Land Force to the U.S.-led Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine who assist in training units of the National Guard and regular forces of Ukraine.
Currently there are 16 Lithuanian military instructors, the majority of whom serve with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion, providing combat training for Ukraine's mechanised infantry, training for staff personnel, and live-fire training, together with U.S., UK, and Canadian allies.
Earlier this year, Lithuanian soldiers took part in the U.S.-led initiative Fearless Guardian helping to train the National Guard of Ukraine from July to October.
