Polish–Ukrainian Peace Force Battalion

Creation

The Kyiv and Warsaw governments reached a preliminary agreement to create a joint peacekeeping military formation on October 5, 1995; the first training started in 1996 and the respective national units to comprise the battalion were committed in 1997 when on November 26, the Ministers of Defense of Ukraine and Poland signed the appropriate agreement in Warsaw. The Polish component was split from the 14th Armored Brigade and the Ukrainian component was split from the 310th Mechanized Regiment of the 24th Mechanized Division in Yavoriv.

The unit was named after two historic military leaders of the respective nations: Polish-Lithuania Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and Zaporozhian Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny, whose mutual campaign that brought about the stinging defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Khotyn (1621) was one of the very few historic examples of Poles and Ukrainians cooperating against a mutual enemy.

However, strong resistance from the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) to the idea of a joint formation with Poland—the country at the time in line to join NATO (the accession took place in March, 1999)—became the main obstacle to the formal creation of the battalion, despite continued efforts of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which favored the idea.

After the Rada voted down the law several times, the Ministry devised a workaround to overcome the parliamentary opposition, and in early 2000 the military announced that in the upcoming rotation of the Ukrainian servicemen of the Kosovo mission scheduled for July 2000, the ministry would deploy the Ukrainian part of battalion, claiming that since the Ukrainian participation in the mission per se had already been approved by the parliament, choosing the unit to replace the troops during the rotation did not need additional parliamentary approval.

However, on the very next day, April 7, the deputies of the Communist Party of Ukraine registered a protest claiming the ratification took place with procedural violations as many of the deputies registered to have voted in support for the law were, in fact, absent from the parliamentary session. The protest stated that proposed changes in the deployment scheme would turn the Ukrainian troops into a "cannon fodder" noting that according to the attachment specifying the unit's military equipment, most live ammunition of the battalion are to be carried by the Ukrainian troops while the Polish part would only be partially equipped with weaponry but would mostly carry equipment for the medical and communication tasks. The protest, however, had no consequence and the law, signed by Leonid Kuchma, then the President of Ukraine, went into effect.

Mission

The mission of the battalion as a part of Kosovo International peacekeeping force started in July, 2000. Before deployment, the Ukrainian troops undertook special training in the Yavoriv center, the only Ukrainian boot camp that provides training for mountain warfare. The final multinational military exercise in Yavoriv was attended by the Ukrainian and Polish ministers of defense.

The unit's service received good reviews from the force's high command and a positive regard from the Kosovo locals, both Serbs and Albanians.

The Major tasks of the Battalion are:

• Participation in peace support activities in the area of responsibility.
• Execution of functions:
  • patrolling;
  • guard-duty on observational posts;
  • convoy and escort of local inhabitants;
  • protection of schools and churches

Structure

Polish Units

All turns of POLUKRBAT were based on 21st Tatra Highlanders (Mountain) Brigade.

Ukrainian Units

Ukrainian units are based in Camp Bondsteel and Camp Breza near the Brezovica village. From 1999 to 2006, units were also stationed in Camp Golden Lion and Camp White Eagle near the village Raca.

References

• Reuters, "Poland: Polish-Ukrainian Army Battalion to Form in 1996," 26 Nov 95, relaying Zycie Warszawy daily.

References

1. [http://www.nato.int/kfor/chronicle/2008/chronicle_07/chronicle_07.pdf Peacekeeper’s Profiles pg. 31]
2. {{in lang
3. {{Cite Ukrainian law. (2000-04-06)
4. link. (2007-09-27 on pages of the Polish Ministry of Defense)
5. Anton Kryukov, "[http://www.zn.ua/1000/8479/ To throw away the old skin] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-27 ", ''[[Zerkalo Nedeli]]'', October 19–25, 2006.)
6. Valentin Badrak, [http://www.zn.ua/1000/1550/26438/ Battalional counter-attack] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-27 , ''[[Zerkalo Nedeli]]'', March 25–31, 2000)
7. Fearing that such inevitable deployment would undermine its prestige, the parliament ratified the 1997 agreement on April 6, 2000.Відомості Верховної Ради (ВВР), 2000, N 25, ст. 202
8. {{Cite Ukrainian law. (2000-04-06)
9. [http://www.rada.gov.ua/zakon/skl3/BUL35/070400_37.htm April 7, 2000. Full record of the session] {{webarchive. link. (September 30, 2007 of the [[Verkhovna Rada]] of Ukraine)
10. Olga Vaulina, "Two dogs in one doghouse, to say nothing about the peace keeper.", ''[[Zerkalo Nedeli]]'', July 22–28, 2000. [http://www.zn.ua/1000/1550/27891/ In Russian] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-30 , [http://www.dt.ua/1000/1550/27891/ in Ukrainian] {{webarchive). link. (2007-09-30)
11. Marek Sivets, "Ukraine and Poland: Summarizing the achievements", ''[[Zerkalo Nedeli]]'', August 23 – September 1, 2001. [http://www.zn.ua/1000/1600/32037/ in Russian] {{webarchive. link. (2007-09-27 , [http://www.dt.ua/1000/1600/32037/ in Ukrainian] {{webarchive). link. (2007-09-30)
12. [http://www.mil.gov.ua/files/white_book/white_book_en2007.pdf Ukrainian Armed Forces 2007 White Book p.88] {{webarchive. link. (2008-09-10)
13. [http://www.nato.int/kfor/chronicle/2008/chronicle_07/chronicle_07.pdf Ukrainian Contingent in Kosovo pg. 8–9]
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18. {{in lang. link. (2011-06-07)
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