Islam Times - US military staff in Kiev amid tensions with Russia

Islam Times - The US has sent over a dozen military personnel to Ukraine to help the country’s military forces amid tensions with Russia, according to a Pentagon official.

Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said that the American military staff will provide Ukrainian security forces with counterinsurgency, military planning tactics and procedures on gathering data, the Washington Post reported.

She said the personnel who arrived in capital Kiev on Thursday and Friday have begun analyzing the operations of the Ukrainian military forces and are considering how to supply military equipment to Ukraine.

“With support from Ukraine and the State Department, the security assessment team will also explore the potential of expanding our current Office of Defense Cooperation in Keiv, to enhance Ukraine’s military capabilities and interoperability,” Lainez said.

The development comes as relations between the US and Russia over the crisis in Ukraine have fallen to their lowest level since the Cold War.

The US and its Western allies accuse Moscow of supporting anti-government forces in eastern Ukraine and have imposed sanctions on Russia.

Russia rejects the allegations as baseless and targeted Western companies with retaliatory measures.