Ukraine to Host International Military Exercises Under the Auspices of the US

KYIV, February 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Ukraine and the US have agreed on
conducting military exercises in Ukraine, according to the Chief of the Armed
Forces of Ukraine Colonel-General Hryhoriy Pedchenko. The exercises will
feature “Sea Breeze”, “Rapid Trident” as well as three other sets of drills.

Ukraine has reached the agreement with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff in late January in Brussels. “We have agreed on the road map for
conducting the multinational exercises under the auspices of the US. The
drills will feature “Sea Breeze”, “Rapid Trident” etc. The set of five
different exercises will take place on the territory of Ukraine“, stated
Pedchenko.

By the means of conducting the exercises, Ukraine is planning to broaden
its cooperation with a number of countries, not only the US. “The exercises
are originally Ukrainian-American; however, I have invited our neighbors to
participate: Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians, Romanians, and Russians”, said the
Ukrainian Chairman. He also stressed, that the main goal of the training is
to “raise the level of confidence in each other” (speaking of participating
countries. – Editor).

“Sea Breeze” drills have been conducted in Ukraine since 1997. These
exercises traditionally involve the troops of NATO countries on rotational
basis.

In 2009, the Ukrainian parliament refused to approve international
military exercises on Ukrainian soil. However, in 2010 the Ukrainian MPs
voted in favor of the NATO drills taking place in the country.

The 1997 Charter on a Distinctive Partnership, which established the
NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) has become the formal basis for NATO-Ukraine
relations.

SOURCE Worldwide News Ukraine