The Lithuanian military instructors finished the 2023 training cycle for the Armed Forces of Ukraine which was delivered to approx. 2900 Ukrainian troops in Lithuanian Armed Forces infrastructure and training programs carried out together with the United Kingdom, Germany and the Nordic countries. The courses introduced the Ukrainian troops to operation and maintenance of the donated weaponry, equipment and gear, trained leadership of different levels and different military area experts.
In 2024 the Lithuanian Armed Forces will continue contributing to EUMAM Ukraine in 16 different courses expected to yield approx. 1200 trained members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The first team of Lithuanian instructors will leave for a several month-long mission to join the new training cycle of Operation Interflex in mid-January. It will train 200 servicemembers. The 86 courses planned to be delivered over the year will train approx. 1600 Ukrainian military.
On December 19 the Spartan cargo aircraft landed at the International Šiauliai Airport carrying the third team of Lithuania n military instructors back home from the international Operation Interflex. 18 military instructors were recognized for the service in the five-month long mission in the UK with the National Defence System Medals for Multinational Deployments bestowed at a ceremony at the Division General Stasys Raštikis Lithuanian Armed Forces School. Since Interflex was launched, over 32000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been prepared to defend their country, 500 of them is the merit of Lithuanian military instructors on 2023. The Ukrainians were equipped with basic military expertise and skills with a special focus on populated areas and entrenchment tactics, and tactical medicine and engineer knowledge, the new skills were tested in contextualized training and tactical exercises.
Lithuanian military instructors joined the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine in back in April and trained 850 Ukrainians under the German-led multinational training programme in 2023 across 14 different courses. Lithuanian experts were conducting weapon handling, firing, medical and engineer training, taught units of different levels to carry out the offensives in populated and forested areas.
In Lithuania, 1600 Ukrainians were trained this year in 88 course programs of the intense training cycle conducted at the Land Force, Air Force and the Special Operations Forces, Military Police, Logistics Command, Training and Doctrine Command, Military Academy of Lithuania. The training provided the Ukrainians with a set of skills in the areas of international military instructor, shooting instructor L70 anti-aircraft gun operator ,infantry squad leader, and many other specializations needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Lithuania also hosted demining specialist training as part of the Nordic-Lithuanian EOC Training Initiative: the Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and Lithuanian Initiative ensured experience was transferred and all means necessary to undergo the training were provided (and donated to the Ukrainians afterwards).
Photo credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces
