UKRAINE: US AND UKRANIAN JOINT NATO MILITARY EXERCISE

Описание: (25 May 1995) English/Nat

U-S and Ukrainian soldiers continue their first joint military exercises Thursday under NATO's Partnership for Peace programme.

Some 300 soldiers from the Third U-S Infantry Division in Germany and 400 troops from Ukraine's 24th Motorised Rifle Division are taking part in the peacekeeping operation.

Apart from the language barrier, both sides seem to relish the experience.

Dubbed Peaceshield-95, the exercises include transporting humanitarian aid and refugees, securing dangerous borders and operating control posts.

Ukrainian troops have already had a taste of peacekeeping duty with the United Nations in Bosnia.

But this is the first occasion they have trained with U-S troops since Ukraine joined the Partnership for Peace programme last June.

As well as teaching the Ukrainians how to use their more sophisticated weaponry, the American troops were keen to discuss operational matters.

SOUNDBITE:
"At 70 kilometers an hour, how can you do this with your map in your vehicle, when you're driving so fast?"
SUPER CAPTION: U-S officer

And they found that they had many things in common

SOUNDBITE:
"That's exactly how we do it all the time."
SUPER CAPTION: U-S officer

At the end of a long and hard day the Americans seemed impressed by what they saw.

SOUNDBITE:
"I've been very impressed. Our Ukrainian hosts, the Ukrainian armed forces, have been magnificent hosts and we have seen a lot of work and effort go into the preparations for this exercise."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Douglas Taystead

And he saw the obvious value in such manoeuvres.

SOUNDBITE:
"The Ukrainian army does some very good things that we will learn and take home with us and hopefully we do some very good things that the Ukrainian army can learn from also."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Douglas Taystead

It's clear that for the Ukraine and U-S armies, Peaceshield-95 is an opportunity to look, learn and get to know one another.

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