Ukrainian defense minister calls for expanding geography of drills involving U.S. military in his country

11:28, 25.08.2017 1 min read

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said at the talks with his U.S. counterpart James Mattis in Kyiv that he is content with efficiency of drills, which American military is holding in Ukraine.

"Preparations are bringing positive results. Our units' capacities during combat actions have tangibly improved. And we would like to expand the geography of such drills, we are preparing the relevant infrastructure for this," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry press service quoted Poltorak as saying.

The two ministers also discussed the broadening of U.S. material-technical assistance to Ukraine.

It is extremely difficult to pursue reforms while carrying out combat actions, Mattis said. But at the same time, this particular reform can be effective, because all decisions are being checked taking into consideration hostilities, in which the military is involved, he said.