Trilateral military exercises began on September 3 in Stanford, Great Britain, with Ukraine, Poland, and Great Britain participating. By established tradition, the maneuvering troops will simulate a peacekeeping operation conducted by a multinational battalion in a hot spot. The idea to launch the Cossack Steppe exercises was conceived in 1996 during a meeting of defense ministers of Ukraine, Great Britain, and Poland initiated by Ukraine. The following year, Ukraine hosted participants of the first military exercises at the Shyroky Lan firing range. As Ukraine’s Defense Ministry press service told The Day, a 100-strong company of the 95th air mobile brigade of the Northern Operations Headquarters of Ukraine’s land forces will participate in this year’s exercises. A total of 128 Ukrainian, 120 British, and 36 Polish servicemen will take part. As expected, the heads of the participating countries’ defense ministries, Ukraine’s Defense Minister and General of the Army Oleksandr Kuzmuk, British State Secretary of Defense Jeffrey Hoon, and Polish Defense Minister Bronislaw Komorowski, will attend the most active stage of exercises on September 11.
