Lithuanian Stinger Instructors Depart For Ukraine
The Lithuanian Armed Forces has dispatched a group of instructors to Ukraine, where they will train Ukrainian soldiers in the use of Stinger short-range surface-to-air missiles recently delivered to Ukraine by Lithuania.
A group of instructors from the Lithuanian Air Force’s Air Defense Battalion departed for Ukraine on February 15. According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the instructors have “many years” of experience in Stinger use, and will share their experience with Ukrainian troops training on the newly acquired missiles over the coming weeks. Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupšys, chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, stated in the announcement that it was also important that the instructors learn from the experience of Ukrainian troops in turn, as their combat experience gave them “fresh skills” crucial to Lithuania’s own self-defense.
Stinger missiles supplied by Lithuania started arriving in Ukraine on Sunday, alongside other supplies and equipment including Humvees. Lithuania and other Baltic states had pledged in late January to supply Stingers, Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, and other equipment as military aid for Ukraine, following American clearance for transferring them to the Ukrainian military.
The departure of the instructors for Ukraine also comes after Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced on February 10 that Lithuania would increase the number of its instructors training Ukrainian troops. Following a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv, Simonyte said that Ukraine needed “practical support” like the Stingers and their instructors in addition to diplomatic support. The Prime Minister added that Vilnius was exploring more ways to support Kyiv, including the provisioning of additional medical support, in addition to medical treatment efforts in Lithuania for injured Ukrainian soldiers that have been ongoing since 2014.
Lithuanian troops have been present in Ukraine as instructors for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2017, with the Lithuanian Armed Forces saying that the mission has helped train over 4,000 instructors across Ukraine’s Ground Forces, Military Police and Special Forces as of July 2021. While the United Kingdom, United States and Canada announced over the weekend that their instructors would be departing Ukraine over fears of an imminent Russian invasion, Lithuania is instead expanding its in-country training mission, with Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas saying on Tuesday that he did not have “much optimism” about Russian claims of a troop withdrawal.