Year 2014 in Ukraine has been declared as the Year of the combatants in the territories of the other states (by the Decree of the President of Ukraine № 329/2013). Ukraine pays great attention to the maintenance of the International peace and security. Since July 1992, Ukraine serves as the major troop-contributing country to the UN peacekeeping operations.

Since 1992, about of 40 000 Ukrainian peacekeepers have taken part in the International peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eastern Slavonia, Angola, Macedonia, Guatemala, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Croatia, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Georgia, Transnistria, Iraq, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Timor- Leste and other countries.

Currently more than 600 representatives of the Armed Forces and the Police of Ukraine perform peacekeeping duties, participating in 10 UN, OSCE and NATO peacekeeping missions in seven countries. Most of Ukrainian peacekeepers represented by the Army aviation, headquarter stuff, engineer and medical units.

Ukraine pays a lot of attention to ensure an adequate level of protection and security of the peacekeeping personnel. Since 1992, the active peacemaking role of Ukraine has cost to the country of 50 lives. Ukraine has initiated the development of the Convention on the Safety of the United Nations and Associated Personnel (1993) and became one of the first countries which ratified it (1995).

Based on Ukraine’s initiative and initial drafts, the 53rd and 63rd sessions of the UN General Assembly adopted the Declarations on the Occasion of the Fiftieth and Sixties Anniversaries of the United Nations Peacekeeping at its commemorative meetings held on 6 October 1998 and 7 November 2008 respectively.

Ukraine supports the necessity to improve the mechanisms of interaction between the Security Council, the troop-contributing countries and the UN Secretariat. As a member of the UN Security Council in 2000-2001, Ukraine has been actively involved in the implementation of a number of structural forms of consultation and cooperation between the Security Council, the troop-contributing countries and the UN Secretariat.

Ukrainian side attaches great importance to the improvement of the UN’s system of quick response to crises situations. Ukraine participates in the UN stand-by arrangements system - the mechanism when some of the military units, accredited by the UN stand-by arrangements system, remain in readiness in their territory and, at the request of the UN Secretariat, is ready to be sent to the particular UN peacekeeping mission. In August 1997 Ukraine and the UN Secretariat signed the Memorandum of Understanding about providing by our country specific resources to the UN stand-by arrangements system (airborne - commando battalion, transport aircraft squadron, a group of military observers, staff officers and military policemen).

Ukraine fully supported the process of radical reform of the UN peacekeeping mechanism to improve its efficiency. Our state provides active support to this process through various UN bodies.

Ukraine develops cooperation with the UN Secretariat in the area of training of international peacekeeping personnel in Ukraine on the basis of standardized training modules developed by the UN and with the assistance of the UN’s instructors. In particular, in the Year 2000, UN’s experts have certified the training course of the National Defense Academy of Ukraine for the Officers of the Multinational Headquarters.

Ukraine remains committed to strengthening the leading role of the United Nations in maintenance of peace and security and enhancing its peacekeeping potential.