It seems that recently the collectors and reenactors community developed some interest in the history of Ukrainian involvement in Iraq, at least in terms of camouflage and equipment. As part of the preparation for our upcoming publication - Ukrainian Armed Forces in UN missions.
Involvement of Ukrainian soldiers in Iraq
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have played a significant role in Iraq, contributing to multinational efforts to stabilize the region and support peacekeeping operations since the early 2000s. As part of the U.S.-led coalition, Ukraine sent thousands of troops to Iraq in what was one of the country’s most extensive overseas missions, marking an important chapter in Ukraine's military history. Through their deployment, Ukrainian forces engaged in a range of duties from securing logistics routes to training local forces, showcasing their commitment to international security cooperation. This experience not only bolstered Ukraine's military capabilities but also deepened its ties with international allies, highlighting the country’s dedication to contributing to global peace efforts despite its own regional challenges.
Off-the-shelf solution: existing equipment from the Soviet era
The Ukrainian Armed Forces were the second big successor of the Soviet Army, so naturally they relied almost entirely on Soviet era equipment and weaponry. Despite being in Afghanistan for almost a decade, Soviet Army did not adapt any of its personal equipment for the desert and mountain areas. And even if they did, it is unlikely that any would be stored in Ukraine, given the temperate climate. So, by 2003, the Ukrainian Army was very much the Soviet Army of the 80s, but with the new camouflage pattern uniform - Dubok, successor of Butan. Which was not suitable for the desert areas either - at least without being faded and washed out, which wasn't really a scalable solution. New developments were in order and surprisingly these were delivered.
New developments - the desert Dubok camouflage
The most obvious area to target was the camouflage. With both Dubok and Butan-U being suitable only for greenish, temperate areas, something in desert shades was required for the mission in Iraq. The solution was simple and elegant - using regular Butan pattern as base, it was simplified to two colors scheme, changing the shades to match the new operational area. The new pattern turned out to be successful, having very decent camouflage abilities, on par with other popular desert camouflages, like US 3-colour or British DDPM. And it was widely used - pretty much all equipment needed for the deployment was made in this camouflaged pattern.
M88 Afghanka and other uniforms in Ukrainian desert camouflage
So, what is the name of the pattern? Unfortunately, there isn't one. It is likely that the official name is something boring like "camouflaged pattern for desert areas", but people usually call it either "Desert Dubok" or "Ukrainian desert". The cool name of DDubok (replicating DDPM) was never adapted by the community.
At the time of the the Iraq involvement, Ukrainian army was still using M88 Afghanka cut uniform - six external pockets on the jacket and 5 on the trousers, although at the time trousers were often simplified by removing two hip pockets. This costume was made in desert camouflage and became the most common variation in this color. It was issued to all soldiers and officers who were deployed to Iraq and later this was the uniform for the very little medical and engineering contingent of Ukrainian in Afghanistan. Many sets of this uniform were sold to the civilian market, so it was not unusual to find it in Ukrainian milsurp stores in 2000s. These days are long gone, unfortunately.
Apart from the summer M88 cut uniform, the winter jacket and panama hats were also made and issued in Iraq.
But there was another uniform in the same color but in different cut. By late 1980s, Soviet officers received a new type of clothing - everyday coat with a zipper. Bulky and ugly, compared to a traditional jacket, it somehow became rather popular in the forces, especially among higher ranks. The tradition followed - this type of uniform, but in desert camouflage was now used by highest ranking officials when visiting the Iraq contingent - presidents and ministers. This uniform set was also supplied with a cap.
Lastly, there was what seems a waterproof set of clothing, which leans more towards equipment than uniform. It was made in Ukrainian desert pattern, but the cut is unknown (at least to me). I suspect this to be a very small scale production of the commercial clothing, that did not lift up.
Equipment to come along to Iraq
For once, apart from producing new uniforms, Ukrainian military industry decided to properly equip its soldiers. This was a very unusual set of things for the time - in 2000s Ukrainian Army was a really poor, badly equipped institution. But the contingent in Iraq was equipped on the similar level to most NATO countries.
Body armor
Perhaps the best part of all equipment was the body armor. It was called "Korsar" from "Temp-3000" manufacturer, made in different color schemes and it could carry two ballistic plates and Kevlar inserts with large surface area. It is a really good vest - not flimsy like many others at the time. Robust and relatively comfortable, it was well liked by the troops - Temp-3000 even managed to get some export deals, namely to Georgia. Many of these desert Korsars were later used by the mainland Army, ending their career in the early month of ATO.
Helmet
The famous M1 helmet (not the US WW2 one) was produced by the same company as the body armor and was, essentially, a regular ballistic helmet. Not being to innovative, it was a big step from the steel SSh-68, which was the standard for the Ukrainian Army at the time. These were actually produced in big numbers and there were a few variations, which might be discussed later in this blog.
Boots
The Ukrainian desert boots from the infamous "Talan" factory were allright. They were far from the best and soldiers often tried to find a different option among NATO approved footwear, but they did the job and were thousand times better than regular black leather boots. The one problem for the contemporary collectors is that the sole of these boots is really prone to cracking - silicon based material really wasn't good for their long term life.
Loadout vest
Another piece of equipment which was made in the desert Butan camouflaged and produced in huge numbers was the Pustelya-3 webbing. It stands for Desert-3 and the name fit it perfectly, although the vest was also produced in olive green and regular Dubok under the same name.
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