US troops to commence training Ukrainian forces

The US military plans to commence training Kiev government troops who are battling pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine next month, a top US military commander in Europe says.  

A battalion of American troops are to train three battalions of Ukrainian troops from the Yavariv training camp in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv in March, US Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said on Wednesday.

According to Hodges, the US troops will train the Ukrainians in fields such as how to better defend themselves against pro-Russian rockets and artillery. They will also receive training on how to secure roads, bridges and various other infrastructures.

He added they will also be taught how to treat and evacuate casualties and deal with situations where communications have been jammed.

Hodges made the remarks during a visit to NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast Headquarters in the city of Szczecin, Poland.

Although the comments came amid a surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine, he said the plans were made several months ago.

Minsk peace talks 

Meanwhile, the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine held peace talks in Minsk, Belarus.

The summit was called under a Franco-German proposal in an attempt to halt the fighting.

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel started the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Before the official opening of the summit, the four leaders held a private conference.

Fighting rages on

Pro-Russia officials in Donetsk said five people were killed and nine more were injured by Kiev government shelling at a bus stop on Wednesday. City officials also reported the death of three people during overnight shelling.

In a separate incident, one person was killed as a hospital was shelled by government troops in Donetsk.

"A shell hit hospital number 20, setting it on fire," pro-Russia spokeswoman Yuliana Bedilo told AFP.

She added that the victim was a pedestrian passing by the hospital during the incident.

One person in the hospital was wounded and five others evacuated, Bedilo added.

Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that 19 government troops were killed and a further 78 injured during the fighting in the country’s troubled Debaltseve region.

Martial law

Also on Wednesday, Ukraine’s government announced its readiness to impose martial law in case the crisis escalates in the country’s east.

“The government and parliament are ready to introduce martial law throughout Ukraine,” said Poroshenko.

He added that the Minsk summit would determine whether the conflict could be resolved via “diplomatic channels” or the Ukrainian government should “switch to a completely different mode.”

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence protests there in mid-April 2014.

Violence intensified in May last year after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

The fighting has left over 5,400 people dead and more than 12,200 wounded, according to the UN.

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