Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania form military alliance

The new military force is part of a wider plan.

The governments of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania agreed on Friday to launch a joint military force which could start its first exercises next year.

The newly formed force will have its headquarters in the eastern Polish city of Lublin, situated near the county's border with Ukraine.

Most of the troops in the military unit will come from Poland, as the force will be made up by 545 Ukrainian troops, between 3,000 and 3,800 Polish troops, and between 150 to 350 soldiers from Lithuania, according to Interfax news agency.

"This is part of a wider plan … to support Ukraine, among others, in the area of modernization," said Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.

Polish defense ministry spokeswoman Anna Klis said the new military force would be fully operational within 24 months.

Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania blame Russia for the Ukrainian crisis and accuse Moscow of providing weapons and men to the rebel forces, a claim consistently denied by Russian authorities.

The announcement comes as NATO members agreed to increase their presence in Eastern Europe during their last summit, held in Wales, as a measure to counter Russia.

Polish defense officials said the new joint unit could take part in peacekeeping operations, or form the basis of a NATO battle group if one was needed in the future.

Both Lithuania and Poland are NATO members, while Ukraine has announced its intention to apply for membership.

During his visit to the White House on Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko requested support from Washington to gain non-NATO member ally status, a request which U.S. President Obama declined.

Source URL