Plan Over-Fulfilled

In 2003 the Armed Forces of Ukraine took part in 220 actions of military cooperation as part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, the Ministry of Defense press service reports. Under the individual partnership plan for 2003, Ukraine was engaged in 152 activities, with another 68 in addition to the plan. On the whole, over 350 Ukrainian servicemen were involved. These activities were aimed at promoting the reform and further development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Over 40% of the total number of activities were multidisciplinary NATO courses attended by Ukrainian servicemen. This made it possible for the latter to increase their professional and linguistic level, acquire valuable expertise, and learn to achieve mutual compatibility between Ukrainian and other peacekeeping units. Another important factor in the planning and accomplishment of the Partnership for Peace actions in 2003 was participation of the Ukrainian military in the NATO-sponsored planning and evaluation process, which allowed the Ukrainian army to achieve a major breakthrough in operational training. It is planned in 2004 to send still more servicemen to various courses in order to increase the level of mutual compatibility between Ukrainian and NATO units as well as to impart more comprehensive training to the servicemen scheduled to serve in multinational headquarters.