Military manoeuvres: A Russian soldier directs a tank onto a flat-bed truck near Simferopol. Photo: Reuters <\/p>\n
Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday approved a series of joint military exercises with NATO countries that would put US troops in direct proximity to Russian forces in the annexed Crimea peninsula. <\/p>\n
\"This is a good opportunity to develop our armed forces,\" acting defence minister Mykhailo Koval told Verkhovna Rada lawmakers ahead of the 235-0 vote. <\/p>\n
The decision came as NATO foreign ministers gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting dominated by concern over the recent buildup of Russian forces near Crimea that US officials estimate had at one point reached about 40,000 troops. <\/p>\n
NATO has sought to reinforce its eastern frontier after Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula and amid concerns about the Kremlin's emboldened foreign policy. <\/p>\n
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Russia on Monday reported pulling back a battalion of about 500 to 700 soldiers from the border region in a move that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called \"a small sign that the situation is becoming less tense\". <\/p>\n
Ukraine is not a NATO member and its new Western-backed leaders have vowed not to push for closer relations with the Brussels-based military alliance - a bloc that has been viewed with deep mistrust by Moscow since the Cold War. <\/p>\n
But the former Soviet nation did form a \"distinctive partnership\" with the Alliance in 1997 and has been staging joint exercises with its state members ever since. <\/p>\n
The exercises approved on Tuesday would see Ukraine conduct two sets of military exercises with the United States this summer - Rapid Trident and Sea Breeze - that have prompted disquiet in Russia in previous years. <\/p>\n
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Ukraine agrees to host NATO war games<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Military manoeuvres: A Russian soldier directs a tank onto a flat-bed truck near Simferopol. Photo: Reuters Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday approved a series of joint military exercises with NATO countries that would put US troops in direct proximity to Russian forces in the annexed Crimea peninsula. \"This is a good opportunity to develop our armed forces,\" acting defence minister Mykhailo Koval told Verkhovna Rada lawmakers ahead of the 235-0 vote Continue reading