Ukraine will not withdraw troops from Iraq

President Leonid Kuchma said on Thursday that the Ukrainian military contingent intends to act as part of a multinational coalition to support peace and stability in Iraq until the end of the mission.

"Ukraine came to Iraq with a peacekeeping mission. We are not conquerors, not invaders. We are going to fulfill our duty to the end. We will not run away," said Leonid Kuchma.

He also noted that at the current stage there is no question of increasing the number of peacekeepers contingent. Recall that on Thursday, the Georgian leadership announced that it plans to increase the Georgian peacekeeping contingent to 550 people .

Since September last year, more than 1,600 Ukrainian peacekeepers have been in Iraq. During this time, four Ukrainian peacekeepers died - one as a result of an accident, one due to careless handling of weapons, the translator committed suicide.

April 6 during a battle in El Kut . The Ukrainian Peacemaker died. More than 15 peacekeepers were injured.

The parliament of Ukraine has repeatedly submitted proposals for the withdrawal of peacekeepers from Iraq , but not one of them found support.

Ukraine has been participating in peacekeeping operations since 1992. Almost 20 thousand Ukrainian peacekeepers performed tasks in 10 peacekeeping missions. During this time, about 20 people died and more than 60 were injured. Currently, the Ukrainian military is, in particular, in Iraq and Sierra Leone.