A major US-led military exercise with 18,000 soldiers from 19 primarily NATO countries has kicked off in the alliance’s eastern flank involving Poland and the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.
The US Army Europe said Sunday the Saber Strike 18 drill is spread around the region until June 15 as “a demonstration of the commitment and solidarity of the Alliance” at the time when Russia’s military maneuvers are increasingly worrying nearby NATO members.
It stressed, however, that Saber Strike “is not a provocation of Russia.”
NATO has deployed some 6,000 troops in the Baltics and Poland.
Lithuania’s defense ministry also announced the start of the country’s largest-ever national drill, “Thunder Storm,” with some 9,000 troops.
A Polish defense ministry "information document" emerged this week showing that Warsaw could spend between $1.5 to $2 billion (1.3 to 1.7 billion euros) to help cover the cost of stationing a US tank unit in Poland.
The proposal triggered immediate criticism from Moscow. "When NATO infrastructure directly approaches our borders, this certainly does not contribute to security and stability on the continent in any way," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said while responding to a question about the creation of a US military base in Poland.
The US has ramped up its presence on NATO's eastern flank and notably Poland since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
The US leads a multi-national NATO battle group in Poland. Germany, Britain and Canada command three others in nearby Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, where Saber Strike maneuvers are planned.
"They (NATO battalions) will be specifically tested during Saber Strike, it demonstrates the alliance commitment to one another," US Brigadier General Richard Coffman told officials at Sunday ceremonies in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius launching the exercises.
The exercises demonstrate "the enhanced flexibility of ground and air forces to rapidly respond to a crisis. This allows for the right presence where we need it," he said, adding that "we are fully capable to conduct combined and joined operations."
