Ukrainian and NATO Sign Defense Agreement

Officials from NATO and Ukraine agreed on a road map Wednesday for greater cooperation between the organization and the troubled country.

Patrick Auroy, NATO’s assistant secretary general for defense investment, and Oleg Gladkovskyi, first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, were present to sign off on the NATO-Ukraine Defense-Technical Co-operation.

The agreement includes promises to improve Ukraine’s defense industry and armed forces, as well as deepening cooperation between the alliance and Kiev in defense science and technology.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.

Ukraine’s government has fallen into step with NATO since former President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in 2014. The Ukrainian government continues to fight pro-Russian separatist forces in the country’s East with the help of tactical training from Western military forces, UPI reports.