RIGA (Sputnik) — Five military exercises are beginning simultaneously on Monday in Lithuania, the Lithuanian Armed Forces said in a statement.
"The intensity of military exercises in Lithuania growing in the context of the current geopolitical situation is a demonstration of both, the attitude of the Lithuanian Armed Forces to readiness for an independent national defence, and NATO's attitude to the readiness for collective defense in Eastern Europe," Lithuanian Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Zukas said, as quoted in a statement.
Some 2,800 military and civilian personnel from 11 countries, including the Czech Republic, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine, as well as the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) are expected to participate in the exercises.