"Everything is going to plan," he told a news conference after meeting his Polish counterpart Jerzy Szmajdzinski.

The Polish brigade of some 2,400 soldiers is also in the process of heading for Iraq, where it will lead the 9,200 strong multinational division which will be responsible for security in a zone spread over 80,000 square kilometres (almost 31,000 square miles), between Basra and Baghdad.

The two ministers on Thursday also signed a twinning accord between two air force units, one Ukrainian and one Polish, which will organise manoeuvres and training exercises.

WAR.WIRE