Ukraine and Poland explore possible ways to respond to Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 exercises
The Chiefs of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Polish Army have declared that they have studied possible threats from and ways of responding to the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 exercises.
"We have discussed the issue of the Zapad-2017 exercises. We considered possible threats related to these exercises, as well as ways of responding both by the Polish Army and by the Ukrainian Armed Forces," said the Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Viktor Muzhenko, at a meeting with his Polish colleague, Leszek Surawski, on Wednesday in Lviv, as reported by the public relations department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Muzhenko noted that, at the current time, a set of tactical exercises has been formed that is already being conducted on the territory of Ukraine.
In turn, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Poland stressed that the Polish side is also closely following the Zapad-2017 exercises.
"From experience in previous years, we see that the Russians increase the number of forces involved with every subsequent training. The Russians say that these exercises are for defense, but they have mobilized 100,000 soldiers," noted Surawski.
As previously reported, Muzhenko will take his Polish colleague on Wednesday to the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy, including the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre at the Academy.
A group of officers and generals of the Polish Armed Forces led by Surawski arrived in Ukraine on August 29.