Poland calls for increased military cooperation with Ukraine
According to a statement by Poland’s Ministry of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland supports increasing military cooperation with Ukraine.
“It’s terrible when an independent country is subjected to the aggression of a neighboring state—Russia. And we see a real portrait of the aggressor, not a picture provided by the Russian media. We will continue strengthening our cooperation and will meet as often as possible to resolve all pressing issues” stated Blaszczak at a press conference after the meeting with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
He stressed that an independent and successful Ukraine is vital for the security of Europe as a whole.Błaszczak noted that it is necessary to support Ukraine in its aspirations to become a member of NATO.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the improvement of the structure of the joint army brigade of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine (named LITPOLUKRBRIG).
The multinational Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian brigade was established in September 2014. It will be used to participate in operations under the auspices of the UN, NATO and the EU. The main tasks of the brigade are to participate in international efforts to ensure peace, deepen regional cooperation in the military sphere and lay the foundation for the creation of a brigade of the EU combat group. The headquarters of the brigade are in Lublin, Poland.
In January, NATO recognized the LITPOLUKRBRIG brigade as “combat ready.” In March, the first training mission of LITPOLUKRBRIG began in Lviv, Ukraine.