Ukraine cuts size of Kosovo force

Ukraine will cut a third of its contingent of soldiers in Kosovo, according to the country’s defense minister.

“This is in accordance with the general tendency of KFOR to reduce its number of soldiers stationed in Kosovo,” Defense Minister Valerii Ivashchenko said.

He added that the number of Ukrainian soldiers in Kosovo will be decreased from 184 to 125.

Ukraine is the only partner country that participated in every NATO mission in Kosovo.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the alliance plans to decrease the number of troops in Kosovo from 15,000 to 10,000 next year.

NATO gave the green light in June for decreasing the size of its Kosovo presence, stating that the security situation in Kosovo “has improved”.