KYIV. Oct 11 (Interfax) - The combat readiness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is increasing, President Petro Poroshenko said.
"Thirty-nine combat brigades have been formed, as have a number of military units providing operational, logistics, and technical support. Military groupings will be created in potentially dangerous areas, ready to repel an aggression, and not just those from the east, but also the ones from Crimea, where troops should be kept at the ready, including from Transdniestria, including from the north," Poroshenko said at a meeting with brigade (regiment) commanders of the Armed Forces, National Guard, and State Border Guard Service in the Khmelnytskyi region on Thursday.
The expansion of the aircraft and anti-aircraft missile fleet helped strengthen the country's air defense, he said.
He said that he had just inspected the multinational exercise Clean Sky. "This is our biggest drill in four years. It involves 50 aircraft from all NATO countries and from our, the Ukrainian, Air Force. The aim of the exercise is to raise our combat aviation's compatibility with the air force of the United States of America," Poroshenko said.