NATO troops hold large training drills in Norway

Описание: (17 Mar 2022) Thousands of NATO troops from France, Spain and Poland were on Thursday conducting large scale drills in Norway.
In the frozen Norwegian landscape, tanks, armored vehicles, and troops in snow camouflage engaged in a mock battle under the eyes of observers.
The exercise comes at the start of 2 weeks of training that will see about 30,000 troops from over 25 countries from Europe and North America.
NATO said that the drill, named Cold Response that includes 200 aircraft and 50 vessels, was not linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but "it takes place against a dark backdrop," said Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee.
"It has been 22 days since Russia has again invaded Ukraine, and again, in breaking international law. Therefore, for us, it is even more important to prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected," he added.
The drill in NATO-member Norway that shares a nearly 200-kilometer (124-mile) land border with Russia, will be held just a few hundred kilometers from the Russian border and was planned long before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"If you ask the soldiers here what they are here to defend, I think you will get a different answer than from the Russian soldiers in Ukraine," said Bauer.
"They were thinking they were participating in an exercise, and they are now killing Ukrainians."
Russia has declined to be an observer at the exercise that aims at having Alliance members and partners practicing working together on land, in the air and at sea, said the armed forces
The drill, which is held every second year, is due to end April 1.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...