Ukraine announced this evening, Saturday, that its army will hold joint maneuvers with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) within months, after a Russian warning against any attempt to retake the Crimean peninsula.

The Ukrainian army said in a statement that joint military exercises with NATO forces will begin within a few months, with the participation of more than a thousand soldiers from at least 5 NATO member states.

"In particular, defensive measures will be put in place, and attack training will follow, in order to restore the state's borders and territorial integrity that has been subjected to aggression by one of the hostile neighboring countries," the statement added.

NATO expressed concern Thursday about what it said was a large military build-up of Russian forces near eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin said yesterday that any deployment of NATO forces would lead to more tension, and would force Moscow to take additional measures to ensure its national security.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian army announced in a statement that a soldier was killed today, as a result of a landmine explosion in the eastern Donbas region.

On the other hand, the separatist authorities in southeastern Ukraine said that a five-year-old boy was killed and a woman was injured, as a result of a bombing by a Ukrainian drone in the south of the Donbas region.

On Friday, two Ukrainian soldiers and a civilian were injured in the region, as a result of pro-Russian separatists' fire at 20 defense sites, according to a previous statement by the Ukrainian army.

On March 26, tensions escalated again in Donbas, after 4 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and two others were wounded by gunfire by pro-Russian separatists.