US launches biggest allied airborne drills since Cold War ended
The United
States said Tuesday it has launched the biggest allied airborne drills
in Europe since the Cold War ended, as fighting involving pro-Russian
separatists escalated in eastern Ukraine. Nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11
NATO allies are taking part in four weeks of "simultaneous multinational
airborne operations" across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania that
began in Saturday, the US army said in a statement. "Swift Response 15
is the largest Allied airborne training event on the continent since the
end of the Cold War," according to the statement from the US army in
Grafenwohr in southern Germany.
Foll
US launches biggest allied airborne drills since Cold War ended
10 hours ago
US army soldiers take part in a
joint military drill with Bulgaria's army at Novo Selo military ground
on June 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/Dimitar Dilkoff)
Brussels (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday it has
launched the biggest allied airborne drills in Europe since the Cold War
ended, as fighting involving pro-Russian separatists escalated in
eastern Ukraine.
Nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO allies are
taking part in four weeks of "simultaneous multinational airborne
operations" across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania that began in
Saturday, the US army said in a statement.
While the conflict eased after a truce in February, fighting has escalated in recent days.
The fighting has stirred the highest tensions since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago as the West accuses Russia of not only arming the rebels but sending in troops to support them. Moscow denies the charges.
NATO, a 28-country alliance led by the United States, last week defended the number of military exercises it has staged as a response to "growing Russian aggression" and refuted suggestions that they were helping make war in Europe more likely.
The US army said the highlight of the drills will take place on 26 August when allied warplanes will drop more than 1,000 paratroopers and equipment the to Hohenfels training area in Germany.
"Swift
Response 15 is the largest Allied airborne training event on the
continent since the end of the Cold War," according to the statement
from the US army in Grafenwohr in southern Germany.
It
is designed to help allied "high-readiness forces" act as one and
"demonstrate the alliance's capacity to rapidly deploy and operate in
support of maintaining a strong and secure Europe," it said.
The
statement made no reference to the crisis in Ukraine where government
troops have been fighting pro-Russian separatists since April last year,
which has claimed the lives of nearly 7,000 people.While the conflict eased after a truce in February, fighting has escalated in recent days.
The fighting has stirred the highest tensions since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago as the West accuses Russia of not only arming the rebels but sending in troops to support them. Moscow denies the charges.
NATO, a 28-country alliance led by the United States, last week defended the number of military exercises it has staged as a response to "growing Russian aggression" and refuted suggestions that they were helping make war in Europe more likely.
The US army said the highlight of the drills will take place on 26 August when allied warplanes will drop more than 1,000 paratroopers and equipment the to Hohenfels training area in Germany.
A similar drill will also take place the same day at the Novo Selo training area in Bulgaria, a former Soviet ally.
Participating
in the exercises until 13 September are more than 4,800 soldiers from
Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.
It
said the exercise marks the first time the US 82nd Airborne Division
has operated in Europe since supporting NATO operations in Kosovo in
1999.
AFP
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