2024-02-26 15:01 update: 2024-02-27, 19:25
Photo PAP/Marcin Bielecki
The Dragon-24 military exercise has started in Poland, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces (DGRSZ) announced on Monday.
Dragon-24 forms part of Nato's Steadfast Defender-24 exercise, which is the largest military exercise in Europe since the Cold War.
Poland's biggest military manoeuvres this year, Dragon-24 involves 15,000 Polish troops, 3,500 military pieces of equipment and 5,000 soldiers from nine other Nato countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey and Albania.
"They will be tested for cooperation and performance of combat tasks on land, in the air and at sea... military operations will also be carried out in cyberspace," the DGRSZ said in a press release.
"Dragon-24 exercises will be a test of the Polish Armed Forces' ability to respond to a potential multi-dimensional crisis of an armed nature, thus contributing to strengthening the deterrence and defence potential of the Alliance, and demonstrating the strength and determination that results from its unity," the press release said.
The DGRSZ has also warned of increased military traffic on nearly all roads in Poland, including motorways and expressways, until the end of May.
The Steadfast Defender-24 (STDE-24) exercises, run by Nato in the first half of 2024 and involving 90,000 troops from all 31 Nato Allies and partner country Sweden, are poised to test the alliance's plans for reinforcing European defences against a near-peer adversary, according to the Nato website.
The exercise is strategically located in several key European countries, including Poland, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The events will take place from the end of January to May 31, 2024, and be divided into two parts, Nato wrote. (PAP)
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