The Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade’s development potential in the context of regional security

Abstract

Since January 2017 the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG) is fully operational to influence and shape not only regional security but also international peace out of Europe. Its development potential can contribute to support Ukraine in its current military reform as well as in an accession process to NATO. It can positively impact military competencies, capabilities, and capacities of all founding nations and contribute to a stronger regional identity based on common values, interests, experiences and threats perceptions either. Now is the time for the founding nations to decide whether to keep a status quo of the brigade or to further build its “trademark” upon its strengths and competencies. If they choose the second option, the Brigade has to become more visible and active in the security sphere which leads to the necessity to demonstrate its effectiveness and utility in practice. The purpose of this article is to answer the questions: where is the development potential of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade and how it can be used in the context of strengthening both tripartite cooperation and security in the region. In the introduction, the author collides different perspectives on the future of LITPOLUKRBRIG. In the first part, he argues that the brigade can help Ukraine to join the Euro-Atlantic family. In the second part, he justifies that the brigade can have a positive impact on military capabilities development and the interoperability of the armed forces of all founding states. In the third part, he justifies that the brigade has the potential to shape regional security. In the fourth part, he argues that LITPOLUKRBRIG can contribute to building a stronger regional identity and tripartite cooperation based on common values, interests, experiences and common threat’s perception.