Ukrainian involvement in the Iraq War

Ukrainian involvement in the Iraq War
Part of the Iraq War
Date 11 August 2003 – 9 December 2008 (2003-08-11 – 2008-12-09) Location Multinational Division Central-South, Iraq Result Ukrainian withdrawal; see Iraq War for full results
Belligerents
Ukraine	Ba'ath loyalists Mahdi Army
Commanders and leaders
Leonid Kuchma Viktor Yushchenko Yevhen Marchuk Oleksandr Kuzmuk	Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri Muqtada al-Sadr Abu Deraa
Units involved
19th NBC Protection Battalion [uk] 5th Mechanized Brigade 6th Mechanized Brigade 7th Mechanized Brigade [uk] 81st Tactical Group [uk]
Strength
1,690	Unknown
Casualties and losses
18 killed 40+ wounded

This article is part of a series about Leonid Kuchma
Political positions [uk] Family and personal life PA Pivdenmash Ukrainian oligarchs Dnipropetrovsk Mafia 2nd Prime Minister of Ukraine (government) Privatisation [uk] Decrees [uk] 1990s Donbas miners' strikes 2nd President of Ukraine Presidency [uk] Inaugurations [uk] Multi-Vector Policy First term (1994–1999) Constitution Denuclearisation Budapest Memorandum United States v. Lazarenko Monetary reform (1996) Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty Second term (1999–2004) Constitutional referendum (2000) Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (2001) Tuzla Island conflict (2003) Iraq War European Union integration NATO integration Post-presidency Minsk agreements Controversies and protests Funeral of Patriarch Volodymyr Assassination of Yevhen Shcherban Death of Viacheslav Chornovil Murder of Georgiy Gongadze Cassette Scandal Ukraine without Kuchma Rise up, Ukraine! Orange Revolution Governments Masol II Marchuk Lazarenko Pustovoitenko Yushchenko Kinakh Yanukovych I Elections 1990 1994 parliamentary presidential 1998 1999 2002 Media gallery
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Ukraine began its involvement in the Iraq War on 5 June 2003, shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Throughout the conflict, Ukrainian troops were limited to a peacekeeping role, as part of the Multi-National Force – Iraq, though 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 opposition to Ukrainian involvement increased following the Battle of Kut [uk] in 2004, which led to a reassessment of Ukrainian activities in Iraq. Following the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, Kuchma's successor, Viktor Yushchenko, announced the departure of most of Ukraine's contingent, and the final peacekeepers left three years later.