18,000 NATO soldiers conduct large-scale exercises close to Russia
About 18,000 soldiers from 19 NATO countries began participating in an annual US-led military exercise today (June 3) to enhance combat readiness on the eastern flank of the military alliance, close to the Russian border.
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| US soldiers during an exercise in Poland in 2017. Photo: AFP |
According toAFPThe NATO military exercise Saber Strike will last for nearly two weeks, starting from June 3 to June 15 in Poland and the Baltic countries with the participation of about 18,000 soldiers from 19 member countries.
This information was released in the context that Poland has just "signaled" its willingness to pay 1.5 - 2 billion USD for the US to deploy a permanent military base in this country to send a message to Russia that the US will always protect its allies in Eastern Europe.
Poland’s proposal has been criticized by Russia, with the Kremlin warning that the permanent deployment of US troops in Poland would “not be beneficial for security and stability in the region.”
The US has been increasing its presence on NATO's eastern flank, and in Poland in particular, since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. The US established a military base in Poland in May 2017 to manage 6,000 troops deployed in NATO and US forces in the region.
This is one of the largest troop deployments in the history of US forces in Europe since the Cold War, meant to "show off" Russia's military exercises near the borders of its allies in Eastern Europe.
The US also leads NATO multinational battle groups in Poland, including troops from Germany, the UK, and Canada, to support military operations in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Saber Strikes exercises are planned to be held in these locations.
In a bid to strengthen its defense alliance with Washington, Poland decided in March to spend $4.75 billion to buy the US Patriot air defense system, one of Warsaw's biggest arms purchases.
Moscow has objected to the Patriot deployment in Poland and Romania, saying the move violates the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and that the Patriot missiles could be designed to strike Russian territory.