On Friday July 24, the Defense Ministers of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement which sees the establishment of a three-way military brigade between the countries.

The technical agreement supplements and elaborates on the agreement of establishing the LITPOLUKRBRIG (Lithuanian Polish Ukrainian Brigade), which was formed by the three defence ministers in Warsaw in September 2014.

"It has been signed," Viktorija Cieminyte confirmed to the BNS news service on July 24.

The agreement states within 6 months after the document was signed on July 24, the LITPOLUKRBRIG command will have reached its initial operational capability.

Within 12 months it will be fully capable of commanding the unit. The capacity of the LITPOLUKRBRIG command will then need to be approved by international certification.

The brigade commander, his deputy and the Chief of Staff will be assigned by Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine for a period of three years on a rotating basis.

According to Lithuanian Minister of National Defense, Juozas Olekas, Monday July 27 will see eight Lithuanian army officers leave for Lublin in Poland, where the brigade will be headquartered.

"I cannot say when the first field training event will take place but it should take place shotly," Olekas told BNS.

The brigade will be formed following the model of multinational crisis response capabilities, the European Union Battle Groups (EU BGs).

The LITPOLUKRBRIG is planned to be made up of an international staff, three battalions and special-purpose units.

Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine will each be assigned an infantry battalion. Each country will provide personnel for special-purpose units and the LITPOLUKRBRIG staff.

The agreement allows LITPOLUKRBRIG personnel to participate in joint training and exercises, plus the deployment of the brigade or its elements to international operations mandated by the United Nations Security Council.

Decisions regarding the deployment of the LITPOLUKRBRIG to international operations will be made by the general consent of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.

The LITPOLUKRBRIG battalions will be held on standby in their native countries.

The Lithuanian contribution to the LITPOLUKRBRIG will be formed from the personnel of the Grand Duchess Birute Uhlan Battalion.