KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-AVN) -Ukraine will send an additional military contingent of 150 servicemen to Kosovo to join KFOR, the Defense Ministry press service reported on Wednesday.
"The Belgian Defense Ministry initiated the sending of the additional Ukrainian military contingent to Kosovo. The establishment of a new peacekeeping unit numbering 150 people has already started in the 95th separate aeromobile brigade of the Ukrainian army's Northern operational command," a press service official told Interfax-Military News Agency.
According to him, Ukrainian servicemen will join the Belgian contingent of Multinational Brigade North within KFOR.
An aeromobile company and a separate sapper platoon will form the core of a new unit.
The 95th brigade is a permanent participant of the annual Cossack Steppe peacekeeping exercise involving Ukraine, Poland and Great Britain. This year it was involved in the Strong Resolve 2002 multinational exercise in the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Officers of the brigade were trained during academic stages of the Cooperative Nugget 2002 command post exercise of NATO's multinational joint-arms tactical forces.
Apart from small-arms, the Ukrainian peacekeepers will receive 12 combat reconnaissance vehicles, staff and medical automobiles.
Belgium has undertaken to cover all expenses for the Ukrainian unit's maintenance, except for payment of salaries to servicemen and their transportation to the service site.
KFOR currently numbers 35,000 servicemen from 38 countries. The Ukrainian military contingent has served in Kosovo for three years. 320 Ukrainian peacekeepers are accomplishing military missions within the Ukrainian-Polish Ukrpolbat peacekeeping battalion of Multinational Brigade East.
The Belgian peacekeeping battalion comprises 800 servicemen. It is organic of KFOR's Multinational Brigade North. Apart from Belgian and French peacekeepers, servicemen from Denmark, Italy, Greece, Romania, Morocco and Luxembourg operate in the area.
Multinational Brigade North has an area of responsibility in northern Kosovo. The area includes the Kosovska Mitrovica municipality. Ethnic Albanians account for nearly 80 percent of local residents.