More than 25,000 troops from 24 NATO member and partner countries and a large number of vehicles, aircraft, and ships take part in one of the biggest military exercises in Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War.

The Romanian Land Forces participate with 250 soldiers and 40 vehicles in this 10-day exercise that takes place between June 7 and June 17 in Poland, according to Romania’s Defense Ministry.

The Anakonda-16 exercise aims to train, exercise and integrate the Polish national command and force structures into an allied, joint multi-national environment, according to the U.S. Army Europe. The exercise takes place one month before a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw that may approve the stationing of more Allied troops in Eastern Europe, Romania included.

The exercise brings together troops from Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Polish paramilitary units will also take part in the exercise. The Polish officials plan to transform these troops into territorial defense units able to counter possible Russian operations such as those carried out in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, according to AFP.

This impressive display of military power may further strain NATO’s relations with Russia, which are already tense after NATO and the US inaugurated a USD 800 million missile defense system in Romania and broke ground on a similar project in Poland.

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editor@romania-insider.com