As part of the final stage of the national component of the joint Ukrainian-Polish UKRPOLBAT peacekeeping battalion’s current personnel rotation, the third group of 80 Ukrainian peacemakers was airlifted to Kosovo, reports Interfax-Ukraine, citing the press service of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. At the same time, 97 Ukrainian soldiers from the previous rotation returned home. During the first and second stages of the current rotation 101 Ukrainian troops were transported to Kosovo, and 83 peacekeepers from the previous shift returned to Ukraine. During the current rotation, a total of 181 Ukrainian peacekeepers will go to Kosovo, while 180 will return to Ukraine.
The backbone of the 10th rotation of the Ukrainian component of the joint Ukrainian-Polish UKRPOLBAT peacekeeping battalion, which is part of the KFOR “East” multinational tactical group in Kosovo, is the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, and 8th Army Corps, based in Kyiv oblast. The battalion has been slightly enlarged by a limited number of specialists from other units. By order of Ukraine’s defense minister, Lieutenant-Colonel Oleksandr Zahorodnii, the deputy commander of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the 8th Army Corps, has been appointed commander of the national component of UKRPOLBAT.
