A Hercules aircraft carrying New Zealand Defence Force personnel has departed Auckland for Europe to help distribute donated military aid to Ukraine.
The deployment - New Zealand's biggest to the region since the early 1990s - will be stationed there for two months.
The plane that left Whenuapai Air Base was carrying nine of the 50-strong team while the remaining troops will travel to Europe commercially.
Defence Minister Peeni Henare spoke to Susie Ferguson.
