On October 5 Ukraine’s new Defence, Air Force and Naval Attaché to Lithuania Colonel Serhiy Verkhovod was accredited at a ceremony at the Ministry of National Defence. Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius congratulated the incoming official, wished him success in service, and underscored Lithuania’s active support to Ukraine’s defence reform and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, as well as the efforts to strengthen the bilateral security cooperation resulting from that.
“Our cooperation has been particularly comprehensive in the recent years. Lithuania is supporting a wider European Union support to Ukraine’s defence sector, it is also continuously backing Ukraine in NATO initiatives and expanding cooperation on cybersecurity. We highly appreciate Ukraine’s contribution to NATO and EU activities, military missions and joint exercises. It is a strong message of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations – we support you and wish success on this path forward,” Vice Minister M. Abukevičius said at the ceremony.
Defence cooperation between Lithuania and Ukraine intensified after the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014: Lithuania was rendering material and technical support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, provided treatment for military personnel injured in Donbass. Both, independently and with its allies, Lithuania also supports the Ukrainian reform of military education and assists it with application of Western standards and procedures to the Armed Forces of Ukraine that seeks better integration with NATO militaries. Relations with Ukraine are an important priority of Lithuania’s security and foreign policy.
The new Defence Attaché was serving in different units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also, as the Defence Attaché to Poland, and worked at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine from 2014, prior to the present appointment.
Photo credit: MoD/G.Maksimovicz-Alkema
