The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, held a press conference at the Central House of Officers in Kyiv.
The Commander-in-Chief informed about the training of the Ukrainian army in the new season.
He noted that the joint efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Joint Efforts-2021" (SCPE) would be held on September 22-30 in defensive nature only:
"These exercises will be aimed at protecting Ukraine, increasing its defense potential and compliance with it."
According to Lieutenant General, "Joint Efforts-2021" is a response to Russia's "West-2021" ("Zapad-2021") exercises and the threat of a large-scale attack by the Russian Federation.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are preparing to react adequately to the possible large-scale aggression against the country:
"The joint strategic exercises conducted by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus today and the deployment of additional forces and military assets along the state border, as well as in the territory of the republic, give grounds to say this. Most likely, there are such intentions, so we need to react and improve our training."
According to Zaluzhnyi, during the strategic command-staff exercises, the main military training grounds, as well as the waters of the Black and Azov seas, will be used to perform training tasks:
"About 12,500 people and more than 600 weapons and military equipment will participate in the strategic exercises.
"Tanks - up to 85 units; armored combat vehicles - 420 units; missile and artillery systems (more than 100 mm in diameter) - 50 units; warships (boats) - 20 units; helicopters (planes) - up to 30 units," he added.