Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Charity)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and military observers from NATO countries, including the United Kingdom and Poland, watched the country’s armed forces conduct military exercises in the western region of Ukraine. Ukraine Wednesday.
Tanks fired munitions and passed through dug fields while soldiers were training with anti-tank missiles near the town of Rivne.
The exercises, which are part of the annual Zamitel series 2022 (Ice Storm 2022), were conducted as Ukraine prepared for a possible military attack by Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 soldiers in the border areas with the former Soviet republic.
Colonel Andrei Melnik, one of the commanders at the Rivne training camp, said the troops had trained with a wide variety of weapons.
“We use the full range of weapons available to the commanders of the ground forces – artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, anti-tank missiles and weapons,” he said.
Hanna Malia, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, said the exercises show the readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“We are fully prepared to defend our country and we will defend it,” she said, as she watched the exercises.
The United States and NATO say Russia was still bolstering its forces around Ukraine on Wednesday, despite Moscow’s insistence that it withdraw, calling into question President Vladimir Putin’s alleged willingness to negotiate a solution to the crisis.
Russia denies planning to invade Ukraine.
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