Lithuania has sent special operation forces to participate in the Joint Multinational Training Group Ukraine. The ten Special Forces soldiers will train soldiers of the Ukrainian special operation forces and share experiences. This training mission will also help Ukraine to rearrange its military so that it corresponds to NATO standards and will increase its interoperability with the militaries of other NATO members.
 |
| Lithuanian Special Forces |
The role of Special Forces in irregular warfare, as well as Hybrid Warfare, has grown, according to the Lithuanian Minister of Defence Juozas Olekas. This makes it clear that the training of Ukrainian soldiers is a two way deal. While Lithuania can prove towards other NATO members that it has decent Special Forces qualified to train other nations, it also receives valuable experience of Ukrainian soldiers in how to fight an irregular war against Russian backed forces.
Lithuanian is not only involved in training Special Forces. Sixteen instructors of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas mechanized infantry battalion are also active in Ukraine. These instructors will train the mechanized infantry of the Ukrainian Army in the form of combat training, training for staff personnel and live fire training.
It should also be noted that Lithuania is operating with other NATO members in these training missions. Soldiers from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are also training Ukrainian soldiers.
Analysis
Lithuania has been very active in recent years to break Russia’s influence in Eastern Europe. The country made several steps to break free from Russia’s influence and become more oriented towards the rest of Europe. Large steps have been undertaken to become less depend on Russia, especially in the field of energy security.
On the military level the country is an active NATO member that participates in several NATO exercises and operations. The country also sought several bilateral treaties with surrounding countries, aside from the NATO framework. Among these bilateral treaties was the creation of a joint brigade together with Poland and Ukraine to facilitate joint training and operations.
It makes sense for Lithuania to get involved in Ukraine since Lithuania seeks to curb Russia’s ambitions in the Baltic Region and Eastern Europe. Russia has currently two active military campaigns, one of them in Eastern Ukraine. As long as Russia is focused on these two campaigns it will not be able to impose a real threat to the Baltic Region. It is therefore in the vital interests of Lithuania to support Ukraine in fighting Russia’s proxy forces and keep Russia focused on events away from the Baltic Region.
Not only does this training operation provide Lithuania with the tools to tie Russian forces in Ukraine, it also allows for the transfer of knowledge. Ukraine has been dealing with Russian backed rebels for nearly two years and has learnt a lot from this conflict and how Russia is waging what is called Hybrid Warfare. This knowledge is important for Lithuania to defend its territory in the event that Russia wages Hybrid Warfare in the Baltic Region.
