US military begins joint exercises near Russian territory

According to the Washington Examiner, this is the largest multinational exercise organized by the US European Command (EUCOM). This move comes right after the exercise is said to have involved about 100,000 Russian troops in the eastern border of Ukraine and Crimea.

Theexercise, which has been planned for a long time, is aimed at testing the infrastructure and military response capabilities ofNATOin Southeast Europe. General Tod Wolters - commander of EUCOM, announced that the exercise also aims to improve logistics.

“What we are trying to do is improve our transparency and strategic alignment, something that hasn’t been done on this scale and scope since the 1940s,” said Wolters.

Activities in the exercise include armed infiltration, air and missile defense, live fire and a command exercise. All are designed to improve the readiness of US troops to easily integrate with NATO partners in the event of a crisis in the region.

“We are trying to follow the direction of the EUCOM commander and the Department of Defense to immediately shift our focus to the Balkans and the Black Sea. This is a strategically important area where we have always had a presence, but we still want to increase our presence,” an EUCOM official told the Washington Examiner in March.

Following the Russia-Ukraine tensions in 2014, the US began a rotational military presence throughout the NATO sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. NATO partners in the Black Sea region, such as Romania and Bulgaria, are also among the US’s largest military partners.

According to Washington Examiner, next week’s exercises will also include inspections of roads, ports and military infrastructure, some of which benefit from the US’s $20 billion six-year European Deterrence Initiative (EDI).