Adjutant General of California National Guard: Partnership with Ukraine has never been stronger

“I’ve been involved in partnership [with Ukraine] since 1993 and it has never been stronger. It gets stronger every single day,” Major General David Baldwin, Adjutant General of the California National Guard, said in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Major General Baldwin underscored that the California National Guard worked closely with the Ukrainian side. “We learn from each other, and we have become more than just partners, it’s becoming more like a family relationship,” Baldwin noted.

Commenting on the progress of the Ukrainian Armed Forces towards NATO standards, the U.S. General said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine got better and better every day.

“The leadership continues to work very hard to meet or exceed those [NATO] standards. We are very proud of our partnership with them and we are very impressed by the progress that they are making,” the Adjutant General of the California National Guard said.

Major General Baldwin laid flowers at the memorial installation unveiled at Ukraine House in Washington, D.C. to mark the Day of Defenders and Defendresses of Ukraine.

“Ukrainians are literally on the front lines of defending freedom on behalf of the citizens of the entire world – not just of Ukraine and the United States. And the sacrifice the Ukrainian service members and ordinary people are making every day to stand up to Russian aggression is not forgotten by those of us in America,” he said.

According to Major General Baldwin, the installation at Ukraine House is important as it continues to remind “all of us that there are threats around the world and that together we can defeat them”.

The California National Guard has been cooperating with Ukraine in the security and defense area since 1993. Since the beginning of the armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014, this cooperation has intensified significantly.

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