A battalion of American troops are to train three battalions of Ukrainian troops from the Yavariv training camp in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv in March, US Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said on Wednesday.
According to Hodges, the US troops will train the Ukrainians in fields such as how to better defend themselves against pro-Russian rockets and artillery. They will also receive training on how to secure roads, bridges and various other infrastructures.
He added they will also be taught how to treat and evacuate casualties and deal with situations where communications have been jammed.
Hodges made the remarks during a visit to NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast Headquarters in the city of Szczecin, Poland.
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The United States will deploy personnel by the end of this week to train the Ukrainian national guard, US 173rd Airborne Brigade Commander Colonel Michael Foster said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC on Monday.
“What we’ve got laid out is six United States companies that will be training six Ukrainian companies throughout the summer.”
The current plan is for US forces to stay six months, he said, and noted there have been discussions about how to increase the duration and the scope of the training mission.
United Kingdom’s (UK) Prime Minister David Cameron announced last week that the UK will also be sending military advisors to Ukraine.
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Meanwhile, NATO forces prepared for a major exercise in the Baltics.
US military officials said that deployment of some 3,000 troops had begun for the three-month Operation Atlantic Resolve. The exercise will see NATO forces working alongside their allies in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- former Soviet republics that are now members of the Western alliance.
The United States also said Monday that it had delivered more than 100 pieces of heavy military equipment to the Baltic states. US Major General John R. O'Connor told AFP he oversaw the delivery of the equipment in the port of Riga.
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Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the arrival of U.S. military trainers in western Ukraine a “provocation” and warned Ukrainians and their leaders that they should rethink the consequences of hosting the Western forces.
“U.S.-Ukrainian military drills in the western Ukrainian Lviv region threaten Russia’s security,” ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement carried by the official Tass news agency.
Lukashevich said the American forces who arrived Thursday for their seven-month mission intended to teach Ukrainian soldiers “how to use overseas military equipment.” He added that discussion continues in the United States about sending arms to the Ukrainian government as well as the instructors.
“It is evident that they are not trying to bring peace to the country,” Lukashevich said of Washington’s military aid to Ukraine, which Moscow officials and state-controlled media portray as an anti-Russian collaboration.
“Kiev authorities and all the Ukrainian people should think about the possible consequences of such steps,” Lukashevich warned.
Lukashevich also lashed out at NATO warships engaged in exercises in the Black Sea, which Russia regards as a strategic outlet to the Mediterranean that is within Moscow’s traditional sphere of influence.
“Talking about the ships that entered [the Black Sea], I would call it a very worrisome signal, a provocative idea which does not add up to stability and confidence that the peace process in Ukraine will be stepped up,” Lukashevich said. “Any military presence in the proximity of a regional conflict is always a very dangerous maneuver which can lead to different unpleasant consequences.”
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We already know how military missions of 'limited scope and duration' work out with the US military. There are now US boots on the ground in Ukraine.
I've noticed a spike in war-drum beating in the conservative press over the last couple of days in the UK, US and Australia. Not only are they flooding the internet with current stories, but are reposting stories from prior to the ceasefire, obscuring the situation over the last month.
I would not be surprised if some false flag operation takes place involving the deaths of US servicemen in Ukraine. Not saying it will happen, but this media spike is worrisome. Things had been fairly quiet over the last month.