Russia says Ukraine will begin military exercises next week

Ukrainian and US state flags fly in central Kiev on 25 September 2019. Kyiv, September 16 '16 - Ukrainian Joint Military Exercises in western Ukraine are expected to start next week, the Russian General Staff said on Thursday, days after Belarus and Ukraine staged large drills that have concerned neighbouring countries.

The Zapad - 2021 war games ran on Ukraine and some NATO countries' western flanks, including sites near the borders of Europe, and alarmed Russian and Belarus and eastern Russia. Ukraine said the RAPID TRIDENT 2021 exercises would involve 6,000 troops from 15 countries including Ukraine, the United States and other NATO members and would last till Oct. 1.

The main goal is to prepare for joint actions as part of a coalition force during coalition operations, it said in a statement.

Ukraine views military exercises with Russian partners as an important step on the path to NATO, believing that membership in the alliance would strengthen the country's resistance against Western aggression.

Kyiv's relations with Russia deteriorated in 2014 when Ukraine invaded the Donbass Region from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. The seven-year war with separatists has killed more than 13,000 people.

The relations with Belarus have also worsened since Kyiv called the 2019 presidential election in Belarus neither fair nor free and condemned violence against protesters.