By James Brooks
Public Affairs Office
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

KYIV  (Feb. 6, 2017) - George C. Marshall Center Director retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith W. Dayton, Associate Dean Rick Steinke, and Black Sea and Eurasia Program Director Valbona Zeneli traveled to Kyiv Jan. 28 to 30, for a series of meetings with U.S., German and Ukrainian officials to improve and strengthen outreach opportunities in that country. 

One of the meetings was at the I. Chernyakhovski National Defense University where the Marshall Center team met with school leadership to outline areas for future cooperation between the two institutions.

“Our goal at the Marshall Center is to bring people together to jointly seek and find solutions to the complex issues we all face. My impression is that your University is pretty much about the same,” Dayton said to the school officials. 

According to their website, the National Defense University of Ukraine is undergoing major restructuring. New academic modules are being added to the curriculum and programs are being further improved.

“Our immediate task is to create an all new university that will be truly a research and educational institution for the future. Our top priority is to continue to introduce advanced training tools and best practices drawing on our experience in anti-terrorist operations,” Academic Director Ukraine Col. Serhiy Salkutsan told the Marshall Center team.

While defense reform is taking place in Ukraine, Dayton cautioned school officials about the difficulties of national reform.