Stefanishyna: Canada, UK to extend training missions in Ukraine

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna said this on the air of ICTV channel, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Following the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting on January 10 and the talks on Monday, Ukraine is negotiating with allies to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense sphere, the official noted.

"In particular, we discuss cooperation with Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada is currently making a visit to Kyiv. Canada and the United Kingdom confirmed that they would not react in any way to Putin's ultimatums to withdraw military training units from Ukraine. Moreover, their activities will continue and intensify," Stefanishyna said.

According to her, the Ukrainian side has no illusions that the NATO army will fight in our territory, while in the interests of the Allies to shore up Ukraine's defense capabilities. "This has also been confirmed," she said.

As noted, Ukraine is also in talks with a number of other NATO members to strengthen cooperation in the defense sphere. The Deputy PM refused to disclose details, noting these agreements began to be seriously discussed after the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting.

Recently, Russian president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would leave its troops near Ukraine's borders as a "response to tensions and hostile atmosphere" and in connection with "NATO infrastructure advance" to Russia's borders.

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