{"id":32578,"date":"2016-01-17T19:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-01-17T19:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2016\/01\/17\/czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:42:01","slug":"czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2016\/01\/17\/czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Czechs Eye New Spec Ops Unit; Ukraine To Establish Training Center"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WARSAW \u2014 Numerous Eastern European allies have intensified their efforts to develop special operations units following <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">as a result of <\/span>Russia\u2019s military intervention in Ukraine and the role played by hybrid warfare in Moscow\u2019s takeover of the Crimean peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The region&#8217;s increasingly shared threat perception is intensifying the cooperation among local allies with the aim of\u00a0enhancing\u00a0their special operations capacities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Some decision-makers from countries located on NATO&#8217;s eastern flank fear that the military scenario seen in Ukraine could be repeated elsewhere, in a different country, with the use of similar tactics,&#8221; said professor Marek Jablonowski, a political scientist from the University of Warsaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drawing on the experiences from Russia\u2019s intervention in Ukraine, the Czech Defense Ministry has decided to establish a <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">new <\/span>special forces unit that\u00a0will be able to <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">enabled to <\/span>carry out operations in a hybrid warfare environment. The move is caused by Prague&#8217;s increased security concerns,\u00a0<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">by Prague<\/span> which are rooted in Russia\u2019s intervention in Ukraine and Moscow\u2019s hybrid warfare tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The current complex security environment is characterized by diversified, complex means of combat, which requires the Czech Army to adapt itself and react to new threats,&#8221; Jana Ruzickova, the spokeswoman for the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, told local daily Lidove Noviny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new unit will complement the activities of the Czech military\u2019s 601st Special Forces Group. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">(601 SFG). <\/span>It will be set up in Olomouc, in the country\u2019s east, and <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">it <\/span>is expected to reach initial operational readiness in early 2017. The unit will consist of 200 troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ukraine, which has served as the main outpost for hybrid warfare in Eastern Europe, Maj.\u00a0Gen.\u00a0Ihor Luniov was appointed the new commander of the country\u2019s special operations forces (SOF) this month. Following his appointment, Gen.\u00a0Viktor Muzhenko, Ukraine\u2019s chief of the General Staff, said that Luniov\u2019s main task for this year will be to set up the much-awaited SOF <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">Special Operations Forces <\/span>training center.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ukrainian Special Operations Forces troops are currently deployed in eastern Ukraine where they are combating Russia-backed insurgents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Muzhenko said that the new commander will need to ensure that relevant military units cooperate on training activities for Ukraine&#8217;s special forces troops, as reported by local broadcaster 112 Ukraina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>US-led Training<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, some Eastern European states that share Ukraine&#8217;s threat perception are increasing their commitment to the country&#8217;s special forces efforts. This January, Lithuania&#8217;s Defense Ministry decided to raise its contribution to the US-led Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, a task force set up with the aim of\u00a0training Ukrainian special operations forces, and deploying more troops to the program, the ministry said in a statement.<br\/> \u00a0<br\/> Lithuanian\u00a0Defense Minister Juozas Olekas said that cooperation on military training is one of Lithuania&#8217;s priorities in its assistance to Ukraine&#8217;s ongoing armed forces modernization. Vilnius aims to help Kiev overhaul its military, ensure its compliance with NATO standards\u00a0and increase its interoperability with the militaries of NATO allies, according to Olekas.<br\/> \u00a0<br\/> &#8220;The role of special operations forces has grown amidst the current security situation and hybrid threats, therefore, we will give more focus to multinational initiatives aimed at assisting training the Ukrainian special operations forces as we cooperate with Ukraine in the security and defense area,&#8221; Olekas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I am certain that the experience of the Lithuanian special operations forces in developing the force and serving in multinational operations will be \u2026 relevant and useful for the transformation of the Ukrainian armed forces.&#8221;<br\/> \u00a0<br\/> As part of the program, Lithuanian officers will advise representatives of the General Staff of Ukraine and the Ukrainian special operations forces. The setting up of the new SOF <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">Special Operations Forces<\/span> training center by the Ukrainian military could further enhance its international cooperation in this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jadamowski@defensenews.com\">jadamowski@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Numerous East European allies have intensified their efforts to develop special operations units following Russia\u2019s intervention in Ukraine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":14,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[33,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3389],"class_list":["post-32578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-land"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EMPPUKUPEVDLRJTUWF6H3GS5LE","arc_canonical_url":"\/land\/2016\/01\/17\/czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Czechs Eye New Spec Ops Unit; Ukraine To Establish Training Center - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Numerous East European allies have intensified their efforts to develop special operations units following Russia\u2019s intervention in Ukraine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Czechs Eye New Spec Ops Unit; Ukraine To Establish Training Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Numerous East European allies have intensified their efforts to develop special operations units following Russia\u2019s intervention in Ukraine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2016\/01\/17\/czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-17T19:00:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T22:42:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jaroslaw Adamowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jaroslaw Adamowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/17\\\/czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/land\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/17\\\/czechs-eye-new-spec-ops-unit-ukraine-to-establish-training-center\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Czechs Eye New Spec Ops Unit; 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