Polish–Ukrainian Peace Force Battalion (POLUKRBAT) or Ukrainian-Polish Peace Force Battalion (UKRPOLBAT) is a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
-
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
, formed in the late 1990s expressly "for participation in international peace-keeping and humanitarian operations under the auspices of international organizations".
The battalion can be used in international missions approved by the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
or by similar organization involved in maintaining international peace and security, per the provisions of Chapter 8 of the
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
or within international forces formed with the approval of the UN Security Council. The battalion can be made fully operational after 30 days from the receipt of a request from the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
.
The unit is mutually financed by Ukraine and Poland while other countries provided assistance in non-military aspects, mainly in the advancement of knowledge of English among the troops since English is the operational language of the unit.
Since 2000, the battalion of 545 Polish and 267 Ukrainian soldiers has been deployed as part of
KFOR KFOR may refer to:
* KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
* KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
* KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defunct ...
, an international peacekeeping force in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, claimed as a
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
and
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
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
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
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
Yavoriv ( uk, Яворів, ; pl, Jaworów; yi, יאַוואָראָוו , translit=Yavorov; german: Jaworiw) is a city in the Lviv region of western Ukraine which is around 15 kilometers from the Polish border. It is the administrative centre o ...
.Polish-Ukrainian Peace Force Battalion on pages of the Polish Ministry of Defense
The unit was named after two historic military leaders of the respective nations: Polish-Lithuania Hetman
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz ( lt, Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius, be, Ян Караль Хадкевіч ; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from ...
Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny
Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny ( uk, Петро Конашевич-Сагайдачний; pl, Piotr Konaszewicz-Sahajdaczny; born about 1582 in Kulchytsi, today Sambir Raion – 20 April 1622 in Kyiv) was a Ukrainian Cossack political and ...
, whose mutual campaign that brought about the stinging defeat of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in the
Battle of Khotyn (1621)
The Battle of Khotyn or Battle of Chocim or Hotin War (in Turkish: ''Hotin Muharebesi'') was a combined siege and series of battles which took place between 2 September and 9 October 1621 between a Polish-Lithuanian army with Cossack allies, co ...
was one of the very few historic examples of Poles and Ukrainians cooperating against a mutual enemy.Anton Kryukov, To throw away the old skin ", ''
Zerkalo Nedeli
''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.Ukrainian parliament
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
''(Verkhovna Rada)'' to the idea of a joint formation with Poland—the country at the time in line to join
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(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
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Zerkalo Nedeli
''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.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. Fearing that such inevitable deployment would undermine its prestige, the parliament ratified the 1997 agreement on April 6, 2000.
However, on the very next day, April 7, the deputies of the
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accord ...
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
Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated by government or military command as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where combatants are forced to deliberately ...
" noting that according to the attachment specifying the unit's military equipment, most
live ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...
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
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...
, then the
President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
, 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
Yavoriv ( uk, Яворів, ; pl, Jaworów; yi, יאַוואָראָוו , translit=Yavorov; german: Jaworiw) is a city in the Lviv region of western Ukraine which is around 15 kilometers from the Polish border. It is the administrative centre o ...
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.Olga Vaulina, "Two dogs in one doghouse, to say nothing about the peace keeper.", ''
Zerkalo Nedeli
''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.In Russian
in Ukrainian
The unit's service received good reviews from the force's high command and a positive regard from the
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
locals, both
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
and
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
.
The Major tasks of the Battalion are:Ukrainian Armed Forces 2007 White Book p.88
*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
Camp Bondsteel is the operation headquarters of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo. It is located near Ferizaj in eastern Kosovo. It is the Regional Command-East headed by the United States Army (U.S. Army) and it is supported by troops from Gre ...
and Camp Breza near the Brezovica village.Ukrainian Contingent in Kosovo pg. 8–9 /ref> From 1999 to 2006, units were also stationed in Camp Golden Lion and Camp White Eagle near the village Raca.
The Ukrainian Weekly
''The Ukrainian Weekly'' is the oldest English-language newspaper of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and North America.
Founded by the Ukrainian National Association, and published continuously since October 6, 1933, archived copies ...
Warsaw Voice
''Warsaw Voice: Polish and Central European Review'' (shortly ''The Warsaw Voice'') is an English-language newspaper printed in Poland, concentrating on news about Poland and its neighbours. First released in October 1988, it is a general news ma ...