A Ukrainian deputy defense minister on July 24 said Ukraine's armed forces "need international support more than ever before."
“The scale of threats and the scope of necessary reaction to the
crisis situation makes it clear that today the Ukrainian Armed Forces
need international support more than ever before,” a statement by the
Ukrainian Defense Ministry quoted Ihor Kabanenko as saying during a
meeting with Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, adjutant general of California and
commander of the California National Guard.
“Developments provide evidence of undisguised military interference
on the part of the Russian Federation,” Kabanenko said, accusing Russia
of building up an army group near the Ukrainian borders.
Baldwin assured Kabanenko that the United States stands ready to give
the Ukrainian armed forces all forms of support and said the American
government is working on a bill to give Ukraine the status of a U.S.
ally without being a member of NATO.
Baldwin said the United States plans to step up military cooperation with Ukraine.
