Ukraine has been invited to associate membership in CIOR (La Confédération Interalliée des Officiers de Réserve), one of the largest global organizations of reserve officers affiliated with NATO. This invitation was extended during a meeting between Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister, Brigadier General of Justice Serhii Melnyk, and Toomas Luman, CIOR's representative for cooperation with Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.

Mr. Luman invited the Ukrainian side to attend the organization's winter summit and proposed that Ukraine consider associate membership in CIOR. The two sides also discussed involving NATO reserve officers in training Ukrainian service members in areas such as demining and maintenance of Western military equipment.

CIOR expressed readiness to include Ukrainian officers in the organization’s language academy courses, offering Ukrainian service members the opportunity to enhance their qualifications in line with NATO standards.

“It is a great honor to host you in Ukraine. We appreciate the offer to train Ukrainian officers, allowing them to improve their qualifications to meet NATO standards. Such joint projects should have a successful outcome,” emphasized Serhii Melnyk.

Background: CIOR is a non-political, non-profit organization affiliated with NATO that unites national reserve associations from NATO member countries. Founded in 1948, CIOR represents the interests of 1.3 million reservists across NATO’s 27 member countries and beyond.