Latvia plans to send additional trainers to Ukraine
Latvia’s Defense Ministry wants to add Latvian military trainers to Canada’s UNIFIER training mission, and has submitted a proposal to the Latvian parliament to do so, Latvia’s LETA news agency reported on Jan. 28.
The troops will reportedly be sent for the full length of the Canadian mission.
UNIFIER is aimed at assisting in the training of Ukrainian security forces by improving and enhancing their capabilities. The Latvian contribution would provide greater manpower for this effort.
However, the ministry did not reveal how many trainers would be send, in which region they would be based, and how much it would cost.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 26 that his country would double the size of its current military training mission in Ukraine, known as Operation UNIFIER. The mission began after Russia annexed Crimea and occupied parts of the Donbas in 2014.
The number of Canadian military trainers will now be increased to as many as 400, and the UNIFIER mission will be extended by another three years, at a cost of CAD 340 million, he said.
The Canadian PM also added that Canada would send non-lethal equipment to Ukraine and assist with intelligence gathering and countering cyber-attacks.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
