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Ukraine will begin withdrawing its troops from the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, RBK-Ukraine reported on Wednesday, citing sources in Ukraine's military command.
Currently, 40 Ukrainian soldiers serve in the roughly 3,800 troops KFOR mission, but in March President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree ordering all missions to return home to help fight Russia.
"The return of the (Ukrainian) national contingent will mean the temporary cessation of its participation in the KFOR mission," RBK-Ukraine quoted the Ukrainian army command as saying. It says that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Kosovo is in accordance with President Zelenskyy's March 7 decree ordering the missions to return home after Russia's aggression on February 24.
A NATO official confirmed the reports, saying that the withdrawal will not affect its peacekeeping mission while calling Ukraine's role in the KFOR mission a valuable aid, VOA in Albanian reports.
The NATO peacekeeping mission deployed to Kosovo in 1999 after a 78-day bombing campaign forced Serbian troops to end their campaign against Albanians in now-independent Kosovo.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by over 100 countries of the world, while it is not recognized by other countries including Ukraine, five member countries of the European Union, Russia, and China.
The government in Belgrade, which opposes Kosovo's independence, recognizes the territorial integrity of Ukraine and has become part of three United Nations resolutions condemning Russian aggression.