American Boots on Lviv Ground: US-Ukraine Drills to Kick Off April 20

US-Ukrainian joint military exercises, codenamed Fearless Guardian-2015, are to begin in the Lviv region in the country’s west on April 20, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Friday.

KIEV (Sputnik) – Approximately 300 US servicemen will take part in the military drills.

“On Monday, April 20,…an opening ceremony will be held for the Ukrainian-American command headquarter training,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

These Boots Were Made For Walking

© Sputnik / Vitaly Podvitski

The US government announced plans to deploy 300 military personnel to Ukraine for a joint training mission at a peacekeeping center near Lviv in early March, amid a new ceasefire agreement between Kiev forces and Donbass forces.

Later, the US Army Europe Commander announced the training would be delayed to give more time for the reconciliation process between the warring sides.

Ukraine is planning to hold two more joint exercises with US troops, Sea Breeze 2015 and Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident, 2015 later this year.

The United Kingdom, Canada and Poland have also expressed their intention to conduct joint drills with Ukraine.