Ukrainian involvement in the Iraq War

Common card · No. 242371

Ukraine began its involvement in the Iraq War on 5 June 2003, shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As part of the Multi-National Force – Iraq, they engaged in combat with Iraqi insurgents. On 9 December 2008, Ukraine formally withdrew its last forces from Iraq, ending its participation in the Iraq War. Prior to the Russo-Ukrainian War, Ukraine's involvement in the Iraq War was the largest military operation ever performed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Over 6,000 Ukrainians performed military service in Iraq and Kuwait during the war, including a permanent presence of 1,600, and 18 Ukrainians were killed. Ukraine's involvement in the Iraq War was strongly opposed by the Ukrainian population. It was seen both within and outside Ukraine primarily as an effort by President Leonid Kuchma to distract attention from the Cassette Scandal, which opponents claimed implicated him in the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and the sale of the Kolchuga system to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Public...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Rodney Foliente, U.S. Army, Public domain