Ukraine concludes final day of military exercises near border with Crimea
Today, Ukraine will conclude guided anti-aircraft rocket testing in the country’s southern Kherson region along the Black Sea.
The testing has been ongoing since November 1 near Russian-occupied Crimea. The Ukrainian army has reportedly been bolstering its military weaponry capabilities and is expected to begin mass production of cruise missiles for use in 2019.
Ukrainian officials remain distrustful of Russia’s military presence in Crimea, where thousands of Russian nationals have relocated to create a demographic shift in the peninsula. Security tensions between Ukraine and Russia do not show signs of waning in the near future, as Ukraine is distrustful of Russia’ growing military presence in the Donbas region. Ukraine’s Western allies, such as Germany and France, have recently come out against Russia for allegedly backing Ukrainian separatists’ sabotaging of multilateral efforts to report on the state Eastern Ukraine.
As the conflict comes into the fifth year since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, expect the international community to continue rallying behind Ukraine in efforts to contain the Kremlin’s expansionist ambitions. The United States and European states will likely mark local elections in Russian-dominated regions on November 11 as illegitimate in order to check the influence of armed groups supported by Moscow.
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