Friday, November 28, 2014

Head of U.S. Forces in Europe on Russian Troops in Ukraine: Troops were "training, equipping, giving backbone ...helping (separatist) forces in the field."

Russian forces are still operating in eastern Ukraine, providing the backbone of separatist rebels fighting the Kiev government, NATO's top military commander said on Wednesday after talks with Ukrainian leaders.
U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, visiting Kiev as head of U.S. forces in Europe, said Russia's "militarization" of the Crimea peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in March meant Moscow could exert influence over almost the entire Black Sea region.
Breedlove met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and others in the pro-Western leadership to discuss ways the United States could assist Kiev's defense potential in the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern territories.
Asked for an assessment of the situation, Breedlove said Russian troops in the east were "training, equipping, giving backbone ...helping (separatist) forces in the field."
Russia denies sending troops or equipment to the rebels but accuses Kiev of using indiscriminate force against civilians in the two eastern territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Breedlove said Russian forces were also helping the rebels "understand the advanced weaponry that is being brought across", referring to military equipment which Kiev and the West says is being funneled into Ukraine from Russia.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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