Eurasia Press & News
US-led military exercises involving 1,300 troops from 15 countries started on Monday in northwestern Ukraine.
The drill dubbed Rapid Trident-2014 will be conducted until 26 September near Yavoriv, some 60 kilometers from the city of Lviv, near the border with Poland, as Kiev government forces continue to fight pro- Russian rebels in the country’s restive eastern regions.
The exercise will consist of a multinational field training exercise, in preparation for which units will undergo one week of situational training exercises that focus on key tasks such as countering improvised explosive devices, convoy operations and patrolling, the US European Command has said.
There are no live fire exercises scheduled for Rapid Trident 14. Countries taking part in the exercise are Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the United States, as well as NATO representatives.
In a show of solidarity with the government in Kiev, the US was expected to send around 200 troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy, to take part in the war games. Ukraine has taken part in similar exercises since 2006 under its “Partnership for Peace” programme with NATO.
