Polish, NATO troops in land, sea and air drills

In all, some 17,000 troops and 3,500 pieces of military equipment will take part in the Dragon-17 exercises, which will be held on several training grounds in the country.

The aim is to coordinate cooperation between Polish and allied forces in a situation of danger, Deputy Defence Minister Michał Dworczyk told public broadcaster Polish Radio.

Dragon-17 is a national exercise, but allies from NATO and partner countries have been invited to take part, officials have said.

Polish troops will be exercising together with soldiers from countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy, in addition to units from Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia and Ukraine.

For the first time, Poland’s new Territorial Defence Force will join the manoeuvres as well as NATO units stationed in Poland as part of efforts to strengthen the military alliance's eastern flank.

The Dragon-17 drills are defensive manoeuvres, with the exercising troops training to fend off a potential attack and respond to threats, both conventional and hybrid, according to Polish military officials.

The manoeuvres officially opened at a communications unit in Zegrze near Warsaw before noon on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Russian and Belarusian war games -- called Zapad (West) 2017 -- were officially scheduled to end near the Polish border on Wednesday, with NATO watching carefully. (gs/pk)

Source: IAR