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http://belsat.eu/en/news/more-u-s-fight ... bauskaite/
http://tass.com/world/958458The United States will double the number of air-policing jet fighters in Lithuania during the joint Russian-Belarusian war game Zapad-2017, president Dalia Grybauskaite says.
According to her, during the neighbours’ military exercise there will also be more American troops and military equipment in the country.
“The fact that there will be more army, the air police mission will be doubled, there will be more US troops, equipment and ships, shows the special attention to our region,” the Lithuanian president said in an interview on Monday.
Earlier, 4 battle planes were involved in the NATO air policing mission in Lithuania. But this time Americans will deploy 8 fighters in Šiauliai, in the north of the country.
The Zapad (West-2017) war game is scheduled for September, 14-20. It will be the final stage of the joint training of the armed forces of the two countries this year.
https://www.rt.com/news/398138-us-lithu ... ad-drills/VILNIUS, July 31. /TASS/. The United States will step up its military presence in Lithuania when Russia and Belarus will kick off joint efforts for the West-2017 military exercises, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite stated on national radio on Monday.
"During the West-2017 exercises, the US will double the usual number of fighter aircraft stationed in Lithuania," she said, noting that also "there will be more military, hardware and ships".
A rotating contingent of Lithuania’s NATO allies involving 100 personnel and four fighter jets is stationed at the Lithuanian Zokniai air base.
At the present time, a contingent from the Polish Air Force is deployed there, which will be replaced at the start of September by a US Air Force contingent.
The large-scale West-2017 war game will be held at Belarusian firing ranges in September. About 13,000 military personnel and up to 80 pieces of military hardware will participate.
The US will boost its military presence, possibly doubling the number of warplanes in Lithuania in September during Russia’s Zapad-2017 drills with Belarus, Lithuania's president has announced.
The scheduled military exercises will run from September 14-20 and has sparked alarm among NATO leaders and the Baltic states.
“During the Zapad drills, more US servicemen, military equipment and vessels will be deployed here, air police will be doubled. This shows special attention to our region,” Sputnik quoted Dalia Grybauskaite as saying in a video address.
The number of American warplanes in Lithuania may be increased from four to at least seven, Grybauskaite added,
saying the reinforcements will arrive at the Siauliai Air Base between
late August and early September to help carry out their standard Baltic Air Policing mission.
“We expect seven airplanes, almost double in the near future,"
Grybauskaite said from the Estonian capital of Tallinn,
where she was attending a meeting with the leaders of Latvia and Estonia, as well as US Vice President Mike Pence.
Zapad-2017 is expected to involve 3,000 Russian troops, 280 pieces of military equipment and up to 25 Russian aircraft.
The maneuvers will take place in an area stretching from the Kola Peninsula in Russia’s far northwest to Belarus.
Minsk will send around 7,200 servicemen to take part in the drills.
Earlier in July, a top US commander claimed the biennial Russia-Belarus military drills may be a “Trojan horse.”
“People are worried, this is a Trojan horse.
They say, 'We’re just doing an exercise,'
and then all of a sudden they’ve moved all these people and capabilities somewhere,”
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Commanding General of the US Army Europe, told Reuters.