No Thanks: Ukraine Won’t Allow US Military Base on Its Soil

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No Thanks: Ukraine Won’t Allow US Military Base on Its Soil

Ukraine doesn’t want a US military base established on its soil, according to a top defense official.

Kiev's Hybrid War With its Russian 'Frenemies' May Have Fatal Impact on Ukraine

Establishing a US military base in Ukraine would contradict the country’s legislation, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak told the local media.

While the US and Ukrainian militaries do cooperate with each other, the issue of establishing a US base in the country isn’t even been considered, the minister added.

"This issue isn't even been considered. The Ukrainian legislation doesn’t allow such an option. The close cooperation between our militaries allows us to share experience and learn from each other," Poltorak said, according to RIA Novosti.

The minister also said that he hopes a joint Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian brigade will be created shortly, which would allow Ukraine to adopt NATO standards.


In 2015 the Ukrainian parliament adopted new legislation which allows foreign nationals to serve in the country's military on a contract basis. The law also states that foreigners and stateless persons may become officers of the Ukrainian military after obtaining the country’s citizenship.

US Military Says Killing Afghan Children Is Fair Game

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US Military Says Killing Afghan Children Is Fair Game

In October, the US launched an airstrike in Afghanistan that killed three children – ages 8, 10, and 12 -while they were gathering firewood (or by some accounts, dung to burn as fuel). NATO issued its usual dismissive statement, admitting it may have “accidentally killed three innocent Afghan civilians.”

But now, according to the Military Times, the US military includes children on their list of who they’re allowed to murder with impunity.

…a Marine official here raised questions about whether the children were “innocent.” Before calling for the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System mission in mid-October, Marines observed the children digging a hole in a dirt road in Nawa district, the official said, and the Taliban may have recruited the children to carry out the mission.

So digging holes in Afghanistan is now grounds for getting bombed? The children’s relatives and local tribal elders had confirmed at the time that they were not Taliban recruits and were not planting any roadside bombs.

That’s apparently not enough for the US military to simply admit that killing innocent children is wrong. Instead, they invent Orwellian rationales for why these poor children were worthy enemy combatants.

“It kind of opens our aperture,” said Army Lt. Col. Marion “Ced” Carrington, whose unit, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was assisting the Afghan police. “In addition to looking for military-age males, it’s looking for children with potential hostile intent.”

There you have it. The US military is now looking for “military-age males” and “children” to kill in Afghanistan.