NATO Special Forces Conduct Trojan Footprint Drills - Estonian Military

TALLINN (Sputnik) - The special forces of NATO member states have carried out the Trojan Footprint 18 exercises on the territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Estonian Defence Forces said Saturday.
Sputnik

"The Trojan Footprint 18 drills provided us with an opportunity to check the level of interaction between the units of special forces of various countries in a situation of hybrid warfare and real armed conflict. Within the framework of this exercise, we focused on the consistency of actions of command elements and logistics," Col. Riho Uhtegi, commander of Estonian Special Operations Force (ESTSOF), was quoted as saying in the statement.

A total of 2,000 servicemen from the special forces of 13 countries took part in the drills. The exercise simulated events aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Baltic states.

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The drills come as part of the Flaming Sword and Saber Strike exercises, which are currently underway in the Baltic states and Poland.

NATO has significantly increased its presence in Eastern Europe since the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, using the alleged Russian interference in Ukraine's internal affairs as a pretext.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced its protest over NATO's military buildup, saying that it will undermine regional stability and result in a new arms race.

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