US paratroopers arrive to begin a series of military exercises
US army paratroopers arrived in Poland to begin a series of military exercises in four countries across Eastern Europe to bolster allies in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula last month. Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said that the exercises will last about a month, and initially involve about 600 troops. An army company of about 150 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy, started the exercises in Poland. Additional Army companies will arrive in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by Monday for similar land-based exercises in those countries.