Russia sees U.S. troops in Ukraine as destabilizing factor

The presence of foreign military advisors in Ukraine would destabilize the situation in the country instead of pacifying it, a Kremlin spokesman said Friday.

"The participation of instructors from third countries on the Ukrainian territory, where domestic conflict and implementation of Minsk agreements remain unsettled, would not help facilitate the situation there, but destabilize it," Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov also accused Kiev of violating the new Minsk agreements, adding that as a result of the breach, no new meeting in the Normandy format has been planned.

According to the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. paratroopers from the 173rd airborne brigade have arrived in Ukraine from Italy to train the Ukrainian national guard units. The training will last 24 weeks and involve some 900 local servicemen. Endi