Breaking news
United States plan to start training of Ukrainian soldiers in March of this year..
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Defense & Security News - United States
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| United States plan to start training of Ukrainian soldiers in March of this year. | |||
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The U.S. military plans in March to start training Ukrainian soldiers who are battling Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, a top U.S. military commander in Europe said Wednesday. U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said a battalion of U.S. soldiers would train three battalions of Ukrainians from the Interior Ministry at the Yavariv training center in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
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 U.S. Army Europe commander Lt. Gen. Frederick ''Ben'' Hodges |
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Hodges said Americans will teach the Ukrainians how to better defend themselves against "Russian and rebel artillery and rockets." Training will also include securing roads, bridges and other infrastructure, treating and evacuating casualties, and operating in an environment where Russians are jamming communications. The officers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in northeast Italy will be deployed to Ukraine as part of the plan, said Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Vanessa Hillman. According to Hillman, the military aid requested by the Kiev authorities was to help the formation and strengthening of the National Guard, which Kiev launched shortly after the coup in February 2014. A delegation of US Army instructors has already arrived in Kiev to discuss the details of the program with the Ukrainian military officials and examine the training sights, LifeNews reports. |
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