More than 200 soldiers in a New York Army National Guard -- some from Chautauqua County -- will head to Europe in October for a nine-month mission to train Ukrainian forces. The state Division of Military and Naval Affairs says that most of the Guardsmen are members of the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry based at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. The squadron, part of the Syracuse-based 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, also has elements in Jamestown, Buffalo, and Geneva. While in Ukraine, the New York soldiers will be part of a multi-national training group tasked with training battalions of Ukrainian troops for defense and security missions. Troops from Canada and four European nations are also part of the training mission. Fighting erupted after Russia-backed rebels took control of parts of Ukraine in April 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
