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Poland Stations More Foreign Soldiers Now Than During Cold War

© AP Photo / Alik KepliczPolish Army soldiers check their tank after the NATO Noble Jump exercise on a training range near Swietoszow Zagan, Poland, Thursday, June 18, 2015
Polish Army soldiers check their tank after the NATO Noble Jump exercise on a training range near Swietoszow Zagan, Poland, Thursday, June 18, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Approximately 10,000 soldiers from 18 states are currently stationed in Poland, more than during the late Cold War years, a German newspaper reported, citing the Polish Ministry of Defense in what is part of NATO's alarming military muscle wrestling.

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"We have not had so many allied forces simultaneously in the country since 1989," said General Lech Majewski, as quoted by Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.

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.

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.

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.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern over NATO's military buildup close to Russia's borders seen as undermining security and stability in Europe.

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.

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.

© SputnikNATO exercises and deployments near Russia since 2014
NATO exercises and deployments near Russia since 2014 - Sputnik International
NATO exercises and deployments near Russia since 2014
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