Tbilisi. July 26. INTERFAX - Annual multinational military exercises Agile Spirit 2021 ("Agile Spirit 2021") with the participation of military personnel of 12 NATO members and three alliance partners, started in Georgia on Monday.
The opening ceremony of the exercises took place at the military base of the Georgian Defense Forces in Senaki (in western Georgia).
At the opening ceremony, Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze said that during the current exercises, for the first time, military personnel of the special operations forces are taking part in them in large numbers.
Also, he said, for the first time, the airborne component of the exercises will be large-scale.
Last week, the Georgian Defense Ministry reported that the United States sent more than 700 military personnel, various equipment and Black Hawk helicopters to Georgia for the exercises, which will be involved in the medical evacuation component.
The Agile Spirit exercises will be held in Georgia for the 10th time. The exercises will last until August 6.
About 2,500 servicemen from 15 countries - Georgia, the USA, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Great Britain, Canada, Italy and Azerbaijan-will take part in the exercises.