These soldiers along with Polish troops are expected to take part in more than 200 war-games until the end of the year. This marks a 40-percent increase in the number of military drills conducted in Poland in comparison with the previous year.
International military exercises take place more frequently in light of the "unstable security situation abroad," the media outlet quoted Warsaw as saying. The remarks are meant to point at Russia's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian civil war and its non-existent threat to its European neighbors.
#NATO special forces in action at ex #noblejump in Poland pic.twitter.com/h9MupOnZI5
— Oana Lungescu (@NATOpress) 18 июня 2015
Earlier in June, approximately 2,100 troops from nine NATO member states participated in the Noble Jump 2 drills as part of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the Zagan training range in northwestern Poland. The VJTF was created last year under the same pretext.
More than 2,100 troops trng in POL for Exer #NobleJump- the first full deployment of our new spearhead force #VJTF http://t.co/B3XPQzUI14
— Phil Breedlove (@PMBreedlove) 10 июня 2015
Polish leaders, as well as their counterparts in the Baltic nations use the same excuses to call for greater NATO presence in their territories.
"Poland hopes that with joint efforts we can replace the rotation-based presence of allied forces on our territory… with permanent deployment," outgoing Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski said during a joint press conference with NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday.
Great to meet troops from 9 Allies working as one in key #NATO exercise. #Poland. pic.twitter.com/7qj9R5fsDw
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) 17 июня 2015
Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern over NATO's military buildup close to Russia's borders seen as undermining security and stability in Europe.
#NATO military infrastructure is approaching our borders, including a buildup of armed forces contingents in East. Europe,US missile defence
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) 11 мая 2015
Poland is also a part of several multilateral military arrangements. For instance, headquartered in the Polish city of Szczecin are NATO's High Readiness Forces of the Multinational Corps Northeast, built on a trilateral agreement between Denmark, Germany and Poland.
British statements about a new arms race and NATO war games in Poland hardly help to reestablish a climate of trust pic.twitter.com/XspiLqLTB9
— Alexander Yakovenko (@Amb_Yakovenko) 18 июня 2015
In 2014, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine formed a multinational brigade to take part in international peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. The 4,500-strong force is stationed in the Polish city of Lublin.
