International Exercises to Become Largest in Ukraine in 2015

The record number of soldiers will take part in the Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident-2015 international joint drills with the participation of NATO members in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s spokesman.

KIEV (Sputnik) – Incorporating about 2,000 participants, Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident-2015 international joint drills with the participation of NATO members are the largest military exercises in Ukraine this year, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s western regional media center Alexander Poronyuk said Monday.

The drills began July 20 and will finish July 31 at the Yavoriv training center near Ukraine’s border with Poland.

“The record number of soldiers will take part in the exercises – about 2,000 from 18 countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and of course the United States and Ukraine,” Poronyuk said in an interview with 112 Ukraina TV Channel.

According to Poronyuk, the military scenario of the exercises is closely linked to the situation in the southeastern Ukraine where the Kiev government launched a military operation against Donbas independence supporters in April 2014.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO members must realize that the ongoing military drills in Ukraine could undermine a peaceful settlement to the conflict in the south-east of the country.

Previous Rapid Trident exercises took place in Ukraine on September 15-26, 2014. Some 1,300 personnel from 15 countries participated in the exercise.