Troops from ten countries will take part in a parade on the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24 in Kyiv, and defense ministers from eleven foreign countries will attend as guests, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said.
“The parade will involve ten forces from various countries, including nine of the alliance’s [member] countries and one that aspires to join the alliance. Furthermore, at my invitation we’ll have eleven defense ministers coming over to join us in celebrating the Ukrainian Independence Day,” Poltorak told journalists in Kyiv on August 16.
The military parade will also include an arms exhibition, he said.
“You will see new models [of weapon received by the Ukrainian army], almost 70 units, including both upgraded ones and [weapons] created from scratch,” Poltorak said.
It was reported that on August 8 Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili told his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko by telephone that Georgian troops led by Defense Minister Levan Izoria will take part in the Independence Day parade in Kyiv on August 24.
During his visit to Poland on August 15 Poltorak spoke to the Commander of the United States Army Europe, Lieuenant General Frederick Ben Hodges, and invited him to attend celebrations of the 26th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence and the military parade.
