Ukraine

Legal basis for military cooperation. An agreement on cooperation in the field of defense was signed between the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania and Ministry of Defence of Ukraine in 1994.

Military diplomatic representation. The Ukrainian Defense Attaché has been accredited in Lithuania since 1997 and resides in Vilnius. The position of Land Forces Attaché was established in September 2017.

The Defense Attaché of the Republic of Lithuania has been accredited in Ukraine since 2004 and resided in Kiev until the beginning of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. The Defense Attaché to Ukraine has three deputies. Currently, the Defense Attaché works in Vilnius, and the deputies work at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, which has temporarily moved from Kiev to the Republic of Poland. Since July 2017, the position of Defense Advisor has been established at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Kiev. Currently, the Defense Advisor performs his duties from Vilnius.

Bilateral military cooperation. A bilateral military cooperation plan is signed every year, consultations are held on political and military issues. Cooperation includes regular meetings at the highest political and military level, expert consultations between military forces and departments of the defense ministries, and participation in joint military exercises.

Support provided by the Ministry of National Defense:

1. Expert consultations on issues military education at the strategic-level. In 2020, Lithuania and Canada conducted an audit of the Ukrainian professional military education system, on the basis of which reforms in this area are continued.
2. Consultations in defense planning, cybersecurity, financial management, personnel policy, strategic communication, and other areas for departments of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the General Staff.
3. Military training operation of Lithuanian Armed Forces in Ukraine (under the mandate of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania). The mission’s goal is to train instructors and military units in various fields according to Western-style training programs. Training is being organized for basic soldier instructors, shooting instructors, sniper instructors, as well as courses for military police and non-commissioned officers. About 30 Lithuanian military instructors are regularly deployed in the mission. They train Ukrainian military personnel independently or together with NATO allies.
4. Treatment and rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. Ukrainian soldiers injured during the anti-terrorist operation underwent rehabilitation at the Soldier Rehabilitation Center in Druskininkai since the autumn of 2014. 295 Ukrainian soldiers were treated in the rehabilitation program from 2014 to 2020.
5. Training of representatives of the Ukrainian military in Lithuanian and international military training institutions. The Military Academy of Lithuania and other training institutions of the Lithuanian Armed Forces organize various courses for representatives of Ukraine. The Ministry of National Defence also finances the studies of Ukrainian soldiers at the Baltic Defence College.
6. Continuous material support. In order to help Ukraine fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, Lithuania provides material support to the Ukrainian military. Material support for ~ 6 million euros was provided from 2014 to 2019. (Soviet-type ammunition, equipment, military-technical support, NATO trust funds). Body armor with ballistic belts, thermal imaging surveillance devices (total value ~1 million euros) and an L-39ZA training aircraft were transferred in 2021.
7. Joint brigade of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine – LITPOLUKRBRIG. A trilateral brigade was established by agreement of the Minister of National Defense of Lithuania and Ministers of Defense of Poland and Ukraine in 2014. The brigade headquarters is located in Lublin, and its task is to strengthen the capabilities of Ukrainian soldiers in accordance with NATO procedures (work at the headquarters, joint trilateral exercises).

Command of the brigade is carried out on a rotational basis every three years. In 2018-2021, the brigade headquarters was commanded by a Ukrainian officer, in 2015-2018, the brigade headquarters was commanded by a Polish officer. Currently, the brigade is commanded by Poland (Lithuania missed one rotation), and Lithuania holds the position of deputy commander. Working issues are resolved in a joint Coordination Group of representatives of the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania and Ministries of Defense of Poland and Ukraine and the armies of the said countries. Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine each contribute an infantry battalion to the brigade, personnel for the formation of specialized units and the brigade headquarters.

• We participate in joint military exercises, including NATO exercises.
• Ukrainian representatives participate in the Regional Cyber Defense Center in Kaunas, which began operating in 2021.

International advisory formats:

1. Since 2016, Lithuania has been appointing a representative to the Defense Reform Advisory Board (hereinafter – DRAB):a strategic-level group of advisors from the United States, the UK, Canada, Germany, Poland, and Lithuania.
2. Multinational Joint Commission on Defense Reform and Security Cooperation in Ukraine (hereinafter – MJC) – a joint commission of the United States, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, and Ukraine. Lithuania is represented by the Chief of the Defence Staff.  The Commission addresses issues of support for the reforms of the Ukrainian military, and has 13 subcommittees. Lithuania participates in the activities of subcommittees of the Land Forces, Special Operations Forces, and Military Police, and heads the Subcommittee of Non-Commissioned Officer Reform. In May 2018, a professional military training subcommittee was established under the leadershipof Lithuania and NATO’s Deep – Defence Education Enhancement Programme.
3. QUINT format – informal coordination meetings between the USA, the UK, Canada, Poland, and Lithuania, held at four levels (ministers, military commanders, political directors, and specialists). The purpose of this format is to coordinate the provision of support to Ukraine.

Lithuanian military advisors in Ukraine

• A military advisor on professional military education and training (Lt. Col.) and a military advisor on non-commissioned officer training (Sr. Maj.) were appointed to the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine since 2016. Two new advisors (Col.) on command and control issues, as well as an advisor on military police issues, started working in the office in 2022.
• The Deputy Defence Attaché of Lithuania in Ukraine, who advises on SOF issues, is also the representative of the NATO SOF Headquarters in Ukraine. 
• The representative of the Ministry of National Defence worked as a deputy head of the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Ukraine from 2016 to 2019, she consulted with Ukrainian institutions on issues of strategic communication.
• Lithuania has also participated in the Nordic-Baltic Assistance Programme (hereinafter – NBAP),which consults and coordinates its actions on issues of providing assistance to Ukraine, since 2015. Lithuania chairs this programme during 2022.

Cooperation in international military operations

• Ukrainian and Lithuanian soldiers served together in the National Support Element in Kabul from 2011 to 2021.
• Ukraine sent military specialists to the Lithuanian-led Afghan Air Force Training Group in Kandahar from 2011 to 2014.
• Ukrainian soldiers (staff officers, military medics, explosive ordinance disposal specialists, logistics specialists, and civil-military cooperation specialists) participated in the activities of the Lithuanian-led Ghor Provincial Reconstruction Group in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2007 to 2013.