Lithuanian Parliament votes to send more military instructors to Ukraine
The Lithuanian Seimas passed a law that provides for sending twice as many military instructors to Ukraine for training purposes, according to baltnews.lt.
The vote took place on Tuesday. Of 114 Lithuanian parliamentarians, 103 voted for the bill. There were none who voted against it or abstained from voting.
Up to 30 instructors from the Lithuanian army could be sent before this law was passed. But now up to 60 servicemen or civil servants of the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania can be legally sent to Ukraine. They will participate in approved “military training operations.”
Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis told the press that the new law does not provide grounds for Lithuanian servicemen to participate in combat operations in the antiterrorist zone in Ukraine. The law is aimed at supporting the efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to meet NATO standards.
Since autumn of last year, Lithuanian instructors have been training servicemen in the Ukrainian army.
In 2015-2016, Lithuania supplied Ukraine with 150 tons of weapons.