Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff discusses military relations in Kyiv

KYIV - Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Army Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent a day in Kyiv on June 17 to discuss U.S.-Ukraine military relations with Ukrainian officials.

The military leader of the U.S. Armed Forces met with Ukraine's Minister of Defense Volodymyr Shkidchenko to discuss various topics on the development of bilateral military relations, including preparations under way for Ukraine's participation in the Iraq stabilization force, reported the Ministry of Defense press center.

Ukraine has committed two battalions consisting of 1,800 troops to the peacekeeping effort in Iraq, which will be deployed in the Polish sector southwest of Baghdad by the middle of July.

Gen. Myers thanked Ukrainian servicemen in the army's 19th Special Battalion, which has responsibility for countering the effects of attacks of weapons of mass destruction, who were part of the deployment to Kuwait in support of the U.S.-led Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During the low-profile visit by Gen. Myers, which included one photo opportunity and no press conferences, the two sides also discussed Ukraine's preparations for integration into NATO and the status of defense reform in the country's armed forces.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 29, 2003, No. 26, Vol. LXXI

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