WARSAW — Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the country's new draft military doctrine is the first in Ukraine's history to clearly identify Russia as an enemy and an aggressor.
The announcement was made Sept. 1 during the prime minister's visit to Odessa, where he took part in the launching ceremony of the Sea Breeze 2015 multinational military exercise, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said in a statement.
Yatsenyuk said that the draft military doctrine has been submitted to the National Defense and Security Council, and that the Ukrainian President "will sign the corresponding decree".
According to the prime minister, Ukraine is currently modernizing its armed forces, and its military objectives include "maintaining mutual relations between our American partners and the Ukrainian Armed Forces,", and upgrading Ukraine’s naval capabilities with the construction of four new corvettes.
Yatsenyuk said that the country’s government aims to intensify joint military activities to "turn the Black Sea into a safe area and to make the Russian Federation, which illegally annexed Crimea, realize that any illegal actions will be curbed by our joint efforts.".
Vice Admiral James Foggo, cCommander of the US 6th Fleet, and US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt took part in the launching ceremony, during which they visited a Ukrainian vessel and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook, the statement said.
"We feel as one force with our partners, NATO [member] states, with our American partners. Therefore, the American ships have entered and will enter the Ukrainian territorial waters in the future. We will continue our joint exercise," Yatsenyuk said.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
