US troops arrive in Germany for 'Defender Europe 20' military maneuvers

14:43, 21.02.2020

The first contingent of US troops, tanks and equipment taking part in the “Defender Europe 20” military exercise began arriving in the northern German port of Bremerhaven Friday, kicking off the the largest deployment of US-based forces in Europe in over 25 years.

In total, over 20,000 troops and 20,000 pieces of equipment are being shipped across the Atlantic, arriving at six European seaports. They will then transfer to staging areas and on to military maneuvers with European partners, the US Army said, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

A significant part of the troops and equipment are expected to be deployed to Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

The mass movement of US troops across the Atlantic into Germany and Eastern Europe is intended as a test of transatlantic military cooperation and capability. It comes as NATO’s Eastern European members are wary of Russia’s more aggressive posture in the region.

The US army said that the Defender Europe 20 “demonstrates the US military’s ability to deploy a large force to support NATO and respond to any crisis.”

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