On Thursday, Russian Defense Ministry accused the U.S. forces of deploying also in eastern Ukraine, in the conflict zone near the cities of Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Artyomovsk and Volnovakha to train Ukrainian soldiers, Ukraine Today reports. 

In turn, Pentagon denied the accusations, saying this was a “ridiculous attempt” by Moscow to obscure its own actions in Ukraine’s east.

Nearly 300 US servicemen from the 173rd Airborne Brigade are hosted the Ukrainian National Guard at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center at Yavoriv close to the Polish border.

See unian.info’s video section for more of the latest news from Ukraine in video from Ukraine Today, Ukraine’s 24-hour English-language news channel.