Poland, Baltic states host NATO war games
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
06.06.2018 13:33
NATO war games are being held at former checkpoints on the border between Poland and Lithuania as the alliance looks to boost readiness on its eastern flank.
Flickr.com/U.S. Department of Defense
The annual Saber Strike military drills, held since 2010, are focused in Poland and the Baltic states and involve some 18,000 troops from 19 nations, broadcaster Radio Liberty reported.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Wednesday that the alliance’s defence ministers would on Thursday decide on boosting readiness in Europe’s east.
Stoltenberg said the alliance would have a new logistics command centre in Ulm, southern Germany to make it easier to move forces in the event of conflict.
The NATO chief also said that allies would increase numbers of battle-ready forces in Europe to a total of 30 battalions, 30 fighter jet squadrons and 30 ships which can be readied for deployment within 30 minutes.
NATO leaders meeting at a summit in Warsaw in July 2016 decided to deploy four multinational battalions to Poland and three Baltic states amid fears of potential Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
(vb/pk)
Source: IAR