24.07.2016 | (3776 id = 427 СМИ) http://en.censor.net.ua/n398839 | | 00:00:00

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Jeffrey Pyatt and British Ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough took part in the opening of the active phase of the Sea Breeze 2016 exercise and expressed their support for Ukrainian people.
Censor.NET reports citing the press service of the Defense Ministry.

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As Pyatt said at the opening of the active phase of Sea Breeze 2016 exercise in Odesa, support of Ukrainian people has been and remains the main principle of the U.S. policy.

The ambassador also emphasized the need to respect Ukraine"s sovereignty and territorial integrity as the key principles of the U.S. policy towards Ukraine. The main purpose of the exercise is to increase combat capability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The U.S. government has allocated more than $600 million in aid in order to improve the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the upgrade the Ukrainian leadership in the field of security and defense.

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Pyatt has also highlighted the concentration demonstrated by Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak and Deputy Prime Minister Klympush-Tsyntsadze in matters of the military reform.

For the first time in Sea Breeze history, two American warships - dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island and guided-missile destroyer USS Ross - arrived to Ukraine, the ambassador added. It is important that this year the U.S. military are able to participate in the gound component of the exercise - the amphibious landing of 350 troops on the coast.

The active phase of Sea Breeze 2016 has started in Odesa on July 24. The topic of the exercise is planning and implementation of an international peacekeeping operation in a crisis area, while its goal is work on joint actions of multinational headquarters and forces while planning and conducting international peacekeeping operations according to standards of the world"s leading countries.

See more: Rapid Trident 2016 international exercise completed in Lviv region, - Ukraine"s Defense Ministry. PHOTOS

The command of the Ukrainian Navy believes that Sea Breeze 2016 exercise will enhance the level of multinational operations in crisis areas and strengthen confidence between marines from different countries.

Sea Breeze was launched in 1997 as an annual exercise held in the Black Sea, co-hosted by Ukraine and the United States.