OP-ED

Yuri Lapaiev: New appointments in the Ukrainian military

By Yuri Lapaiev.

Published Aug. 19, 2021. Updated Aug. 19 at 7:14 pm

Ukrainian army servicemen take part in the Sea Breeze drills at the shooting range in the Kherson region of Ukraine on July 2, 2021. - Ukraine and the United States launched joint naval exercises in the Black Sea on May 28, 2021 in a show of Western cooperation with Kyiv as it faces off with Russia. The drills come just days after the British navy's HMS Defender passed near Russian-annexed Crimea in the Black Sea, with Moscow saying it fired warning shots at the destroyer to ward it off.

Photo by AFP

From August 9 to 13, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) conducted large-scale military exercises in the southern part of the country, including on Zmiinyi (“Serpent”) Island, off the coast of Odesa Oblast (Zsu.gov.ua, August 9). The key difference in these latest maneuvers was that they were carried out under newly appointed top commanders.