Ukrainian and Polish peacekeepers will not fight in Iraq

Polish and Ukrainian soldiers in Iraq will not take part in offensive military operations, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Evgenii Marchuk and Polish Defense Minister Ezhi Shmaidzinski.

As reported to a Rosbalt correspondent by the Ukrainian defense ministry, Marchuk said Sunday in Warsaw that Ukrainian peacekeepers in Iraq were not there to take part in offensive operations, but were on a humanitarian mission to protect canals, communications and public sites.

Ukrainian troops numbering 1,600 have been in Iraq since September of last year in the Iraqi province of Vasit, in the Polish sector of operations.