US to train 750 Ukraine troops in bid to counter Russian aggression

In a bid to counter Russian aggression in east Ukraine, the White House has announced that the U.S. will start training 750 Ukraine troops.

The news came on Wednesday and followed a phone call between Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and coincided with Russia's celebration of the first anniversary of their country's annexation of Crimea, reported Fox News.

Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said that soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy, will conduct the National Guard training mission at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, in Yavoriv, which is located in west Ukraine, near the border with Poland.

Another defense official added that 290 U.S. paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade will start training 750 Ukrainian soldiers in late April.

The U.S. training exercise had been stopped for fear of antagonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin as the plan involved a larger number of U.S. soldiers going to Ukraine.

The announcement came as Putin signed a treaty with another separatist region, Georgia's South Ossetia, in an attempt to expand Russian influence, despite a warning from the State Department against signing the document.