US military begins major exercises in Russia's backyard
by Abraham Mahshie, Defense Reporter |
| May 04, 2021 04:09 PM
U.S. military forces in Europe started an exercise Tuesday that will put 28,000 troops from 26 countries near Russian territory for over six weeks, with a focus on the Balkans and Black Sea region.
European Command's largest multinational exercise comes on the heels of an alleged Russian military exercise involving some 100,000 troops massed on the eastern border of Ukraine and in occupied Crimea. The long-planned American exercise will test infrastructure and interoperability in NATO’s southeastern flank, home to the former countries of Yugoslavia and the European Union’s poorest member states but also some that spend big on defense.
The Pentagon said a major difference between Russia’s exercises and the U.S. exercises will be clear.
“It's a defensive exercise, and you will be able to hear us talk about it and communicate to you and to the world what we're doing and why,” Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby told the Washington Examiner.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/us-military-begins-major-exercises-in-russias-backyard
