On December 23 a group of Ukrainian military personnel concluded a two-week course for training self-propelled PzH2000 howitzer maintenance and repair skills. The course facilitated sharing experience and skills on howitzer maintenance and repair in field conditions, hones practical servicing skills and even included a distance repair of a howitzer currently in Ukraine.
“We have been and we will be supporting Ukraine without measuring it in numbers or effort. Lithuanian military are becoming better as they are training Ukrainian colleagues, we are sharing experience, knowledge, contacts. This was just one of the course and just a part of the assistance,” underscored Chief of Defence Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys.
The course was a part of the training organized in 2022 by the Ministry of National Defence and the Lithuanian Armed Forces to prepared Ukrainian troops to act in CBRN contamination, fight UAVs, and gather open source intelligence. Together with partners, Lithuania has delivered to the Ukrainians a basic military training course, junior officer command course, instructor, special operations forces, as well as demolition and demining training.
“Lithuania is continuing the incessant assistance to Ukraine in every manner possible. We are training Ukrainian military personnel in a way that responds to their short and long-term needs. We have completed the training of approx. 500 Ukrainian troops over this year: they are operators and maintenance personnel of different military equipment, demolition and demining personnel, troops that needed special forces, basic, junior officer command and instructor training,” assured Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas.
The team of Lithuanian Armed Forces military instructors formed by members of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment, Division General Stasys Raštikis Lithuanian Armed Forces School, General Adolfas Ramanauskas Warfare Training Centre and the Military Medical Service contributed to the efforts of training Ukrainian troops in the United Kingdom. The Ukrainians were taught basic military skills and know-how necessary for battlefield survival, as well as live fire, cold weather survival, tactical skills delivered in theory and practice classes. The international programme is planned to teach 10 thousand Ukrainian troops this year.
The bar has been set even higher for 2023 with the plan to train approx. 15 thousand Ukrainian military personnel in EU member states as part of the EU Military Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine). Lithuania plans providing training for 1,500 troops of Ukraine, 1,100 of them in Lithuania.
On December 23 the Seimas mandated military and civilian National Defence System personnel to join the international efforts of training members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in EU and NATO member states. Up to 25 Lithuanians will be able to joint Operation Interflex in the UK, and up to 40 Lithuanians –the EUMAM Ukraine in EU member states.
Photo credit: Sgt 1st Class Tomas Kavaliauskas | Lithuanian Armed Forces
