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Ukraine begins Iraq pullout
The Hindu ^ | 2005-03-12

Posted on 03/12/2005 8:49:04 AM PST by Lessismore

Kiev, March 12 (AP): Ukraine withdrew 150 servicemen from Iraq today, starting a phased pullout that officials have said will be completed by October, the Defence Ministry said.

A company that was based near As Suwayrah left Iraq and is expected to return to Ukraine by Tuesday, the ministry said.

Earlier this month, President Viktor Yushchenko and top defence officials ordered phased withdrawal of Ukraine's 1,650-strong contingent from the US coalition in Iraq.

Ukraine strongly opposed the US-led war but later agreed to send a large contingent to serve under Polish command in central and southern Iraq.

The move was widely seen as an effort by former President Leonid Kuchma to repair relations with Washington, frayed by allegations that he had approved the sale of radar systems and other military equipment to Saddam Hussein's regime in violation of UN sanctions.

Ukraine has lost 17 soldiers in Iraq, and the deployment is deeply unpopular among people in the former Soviet republic.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; pullout; ukraine; ukrainiantroops; yushchenko

1 posted on 03/12/2005 8:49:04 AM PST by Lessismore
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To: Lessismore

I read that it is possible that Ukrainians will stayin Iraq even to the end of the year.


2 posted on 03/12/2005 9:14:10 AM PST by Lukasz (Terra Polonia Semper Fidelis!)
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To: Lessismore
Maybe those Ukrainians should re-name their "revolution" the YELLOW REVOLUTION!!!

Yep, them and Spain can skip wildly down the path toward the EU hand and hand!! Figures!!

3 posted on 03/12/2005 9:20:57 AM PST by Lion in Winter (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... LION IS HERE... I am in favor of banning WHINERS!!)
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To: Lessismore
The Ukrainians are under peacekeeping rules and can't fight back, even if fired upon. The insurgents are well aware of this and try to get on their bases or close with their convoys to attack them. The convoys will at least fight back. Several Ukrainians were killed last year when insurgents got onto their base and found a group hiding in a ditch. Things have changed since then but the resentment remains.

I think it's more likely their government's ROE which is unpopular and at fault in Iraq. I've worked with several Ukrainians and have found them to be the most likable and easiest to work with of all Coalition troops. They're pro-West, conscientious and dedicated in their missions. They also tend to be meticulous and inscrutable which helps a great deal when there are problems to be worked on and solved together. They're quite insular though and tend to do things their own way. Earning their trust is foremost. They do seem to drink a lot though.

I will certainly miss them.

4 posted on 03/12/2005 9:21:17 AM PST by Justa (Politically Correct is morally wrong.)
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To: Lion in Winter

Yanukovych also promised to pull out the troops.


5 posted on 03/12/2005 3:00:21 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Lukasz

They started withdrawal today, to be completed by October.

Longer article with a bit more info:

Ukraine begins Iraq pullout

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_1675520,00.html


Kiev, Ukraine - Ukraine withdrew 150 servicemen from Iraq on Saturday, starting a gradual pullout that officials have said will be completed by October, the Defence Ministry said.

A company that was based near As Suwayrah left Iraq and is expected to return to Ukraine by Tuesday, the ministry said.

Earlier this month, President Viktor Yushchenko and top defence officials ordered a phased withdrawal of Ukraine's 1 650-strong contingent from the US coalition in Iraq.

Ukraine has lost 17 soldiers in Iraq, and the deployment is deeply unpopular among people in the former Soviet republic.

Ukraine plans to withdraw about 590 soldiers from Iraq by May and the rest by October, the Defence Ministry said. Yushchenko said on March 1 that the pullout would be completed by October 15, but Defence Minister Anatoly Gritsenko later said Ukraine might leave some troops in Iraq two months beyond that deadline.

Ukraine strongly opposed the US-led war but later agreed to send a large contingent to serve under Polish command in central and southern Iraq.

The move was widely seen as an effort by former President Leonid Kuchma to repair relations with Washington, frayed by allegations that he had approved the sale of radar systems and other military equipment to Saddam Hussein's regime in violation of UN sanctions.

Meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk on Friday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday hailed the "special relations" between the United States and Ukraine - where the Western-oriented Yushchenko took office in January - and brushed aside concerns about the planned withdrawal.

Asked about the pullout at a news conference with Tarasyuk, Rice thanked Ukraine for its contribution to the war, expressed confidence the withdrawal would not be done in a way that endangered troops and said Ukraine plans to offer technical assistance to Iraqis.


6 posted on 03/12/2005 4:43:26 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: Lion in Winter; jb6

Thanks, Yushchenko for all your great support of the US. :(

Not to sound like a broken record, but some of us predicted, that while Yushchenko may say he is pro-West, but actions speak louder than words:

Kuchma sent 1500 Ukrainian troops to fight with us in Iraq, Yushchenko's first act as president was to order their withdrawal.

So who is more supportive of us?


7 posted on 03/12/2005 4:46:01 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: Justa

"The Ukrainians are under peacekeeping rules and can't fight back, even if fired upon."

Where on earth did you get this notion. It is absolutely not true.


8 posted on 03/12/2005 4:47:11 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: Justa

I couldn't believe when you said that the Ukrainian troops were in peacekeeping role and were not allowed to fire back, I still have a hard time believing it. But there seem to be some conflicting info.

On one hand, you don't send an artillary brigage to keep the peace, if they are not supposed to fire back, on the other hand, they seemed to have US troops assigned to protect them.


http://english.pravda.ru/world/2003/08/19/49390.html

2003-08-19

Ukrainian troops arrive in Iraq from Kuwait

Ukrainian peacekeeping troops based in Kuwait have now been redeployed in Iraq. In total 1657 Ukrainian servicemen have arrived at their base camp in Iraq. This was announced to a Rosbalt correspondent by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

The whole of the Ukrainian fifth artillery brigade has been deployed in the town of El-kut in the south-east of the country, an area which comes under Polish jurisdiction. Commander of the Brigade General Sergei Bezlushchenko has met the local leaders. Ukrainian officers have also met their US colleagues to discuss their peacekeeping mission.

The Ukrainian base camp is being protected by the third battalion of the US marines.


9 posted on 03/12/2005 4:54:40 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: FairOpinion
You do sound like a broken record. An ignorant one.

Kuchma sent troops to Iraq to try to save his own skin after getting busted selling miltary equipment to China and Iraq. Since Yushchenko took over it was revealed that Kuchma also sold missiles to Iran. Yanukovych, Kuchma's pick for President promised to bring the troops home just like Yushchenko.

10 posted on 03/12/2005 4:55:15 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Lukasz

Here is a news item about when they first approved to send troops.


Rada OKs Ukrainian troops for Iraq

http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2003/230302.shtml


By a vote of 273 for and 103 against, the lawmakers gave the go-ahead to an agreement meshed together between the United States, Great Britain and Poland in which 1,800 Ukrainian troops will be part of a 10-nation force that will perform peacekeeping operations and security work as the rebuilding effort in the war-torn country begins.

The Tymoshenko Bloc voted in near unanimity against the proposal, as did a majority of the Our Ukraine Bloc, while the Socialist and Communist faction did not participate in the voting at all.

The decision came a week after Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council had approved a request made by the United States, which was supported by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Relations the day before the final vote.


11 posted on 03/12/2005 4:57:38 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

You can twist and propagandize any way you want to, but the bottom line remains that Kuchma sent troops to Iraq at our request, and Yushchenko is withdrawing them.


12 posted on 03/12/2005 4:59:08 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: FairOpinion

Kuchma wasn't running for president. Yanukovych was and he promised to withdraw the troops, so your point is meaningless.


13 posted on 03/12/2005 5:05:13 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Tailgunner Joe

Let me ask you a simple question for calibration purposes:

Do you think Chirac is our friend?


14 posted on 03/12/2005 5:11:13 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: FairOpinion

No. Do you think Putin is our friend?


15 posted on 03/12/2005 5:12:16 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Tailgunner Joe

Putin is pragmatic and he will do, what is in Russia's best interest, while Chirac is a megalomaniac, and thinks he will become a "counter power" to the US.

This makes Chirac a much more dangerous enemy.


16 posted on 03/12/2005 5:23:31 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: FairOpinion
"Where on earth did you get this notion. It is absolutely not true."

Following the shootings of the Ukranian soldiers last spring I asked a Ukranian Captain I worked with why the Ukranian soldiers in Al Kut allowed insurgents to come onto their base and shoot them in their backs while they hid in a ditch. I phrased it in the context of "wtf kind of soldiers do you have in your Army". He explained his government's ROE prevented Ukrainian troops from hostile actions. I believe this is why there is a detachment of US Marines permanently assigned to their base. A Stryker Brigade had to go there last Summer to chase off another group of insurgents.

The Ukrainian ROE in Iraq are not fair to their soldiers or other members of the Coalition which have to cover for them when the shooting starts.

17 posted on 03/12/2005 5:37:00 PM PST by Justa (Politically Correct is morally wrong.)
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To: FairOpinion
Is it in Russia's best interests to arm Iran, Syria, China, Venezeula, etc? Is it in Russia's best interests to oppose the invasion of Iraq and send officers to advise the Iraqis how to kill more US soldiers? Does France do these things?

Putin supports Chriac's mission to counterbalance the US "hegemony." Putin is the world's main proponent of "multipolarism," the doctrine of International Anti-Americanism. Is that in Russia's best interest?

Chirac holding firm to multipolar world - February 9, 2005 - Chirac holding firm to multipolar world PARIS Even as President Jacques Chirac and his ministers adjust to the reality of a second term for President George W. Bush, they hold fast to a belief that Bush and his team still have a lot to learn from France about running the world.

In a meeting a week ago at the Élysée Palace with five American senators, for instance, Chirac repeated his conviction that a "multipolar world" with multiple centers of power is not a desire or an aspiration but "a fact," three participants said.

That description of the world enrages Bush and his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, because it seems to envision a power that competes with U.S. interests and influence, even though Chirac also says the best way to make the multipolar world as stable as possible is by strengthening the trans-Atlantic relationship.

"He still doesn't like the idea of the unipolar world with the United States as top dog," Senator Joseph Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, said in an interview after the meeting.

The senators came away from meetings with Chirac and with Dominique de Villepin, the former foreign minister who is now interior minister but still weighs in on foreign policy, convinced that France had not yet accepted that some of its dire predictions on Iraq might turn out to be wrong.

Both men have argued fiercely that the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq had made the Middle East much more dangerous.

Now there is an effort to calibrate French policy while still asserting France's historic influence in the region.

Putin hails relations with France - 2005-01-22 - "Our views on global developments are mostly identical" - Vladimir Putin

Paris, Moscow eye-to-eye on Iran, Iraq and Mideast

We Need a 'Multipolar' World, Russian, Chinese Leaders Say - "Russia and China stand for a multipolar, just and democratic world order based on the commonly recognized principles of international law," Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao said in a joint statement apparently targeting the United States and its decision to go to war against Iraq without fresh U.N. approval.

Joint declarations in 1997 and 1998 referred to the need for a new world order based on "multi-polarization" - a reaction to a "unipolar" order dominated by U.S. "hegemony."

In 2001, Jiang and Putin signed a treaty of "good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation" that again highlighted the importance of "anti-hegemonism."


We can have this conversation as many times as you want.
18 posted on 03/12/2005 5:37:19 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Justa

Thanks for the clarification -- it is just so unbelievable to me, it boggles the mind, that soldiers aren't allowed to defend themselves.

I couldn't believe that anyone would have such insane rules.

You saw my other post, where I read another article, which, while didn't say it specifically, but intimated that the Ukrainian troops needed protection.

The whole thing is just crazy.


19 posted on 03/12/2005 5:43:27 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

The US is not considering the troop withdrawal by Yushchenko a friendly gesture.

Ukrainian President (Yushchenko)to Visit White House

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1361679/posts

"Among issues he discussed with Cheney, Tarasyuk said, was Ukraine's phased withdrawal of its 1,650 troops from Iraq."


20 posted on 03/12/2005 6:11:32 PM PST by FairOpinion (It is better to light a candle, than curse the darkness.)
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