Mark Milley has first in-person sitdown with Ukrainian counterpart
Mike Brest
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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley had his first in-person meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, on Tuesday.
The meeting, which took place in Poland, occurred after it became clear that Zaluzhnyi wouldn’t be able to attend a meeting on Wednesday of senior NATO military officials in Brussels, according to the Washington Post.
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“Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley met with Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi today in Poland. This marks their first in-person meeting,” Joint Staff spokesman Col. Dave Butler said in a readout. “They discussed the unprovoked and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and exchanged perspectives and assessments. The Chairman reaffirmed unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The two officials have met frequently over the last year, though virtually.
“They both thought it was important,” he told the outlet, speaking about the meeting. “It’s important that two very important military officials look at each other in the eye when they talk about very important topics. It makes a difference.”
The meeting occurred a day after a group of Pentagon and State Department officials met in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior Ukrainian officials.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, and Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl met with Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, and Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. The intent of the meeting from the U.S. perspective was “to reaffirm the United States’ strong and steadfast commitment to Ukraine and its defense against Russia’s unprovoked aggression,” according to a State Department readout.
These meetings are occurring as the U.S. is ramping up its training of Ukrainian forces. Soldiers from U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command’s 7th Army Training Command began training roughly 500 Ukrainian troops over the weekend. It’s taking place in Germany, and the goal is to get these service members back on the battlefield between one and two months from now.
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The Department of Defense will also be training Ukrainian forces on the Patriot Missile System at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Fort Sill officials confirmed a “contingent” of Ukrainian soldiers arrived days ago. Roughly 90-100 Ukrainian troops are participating in the training that will teach them how to operate, maintain, and sustain the defensive system, which is expected to last several months.