WARSAW, 10 Sep-RIA Novosti. Poland has launched large-scale military exercises simultaneously with the Belarusian - Russian exercises "West-2021".
The official start of the "Lynx 21" exercises was given on Friday at the training ground in Novaya Demba in the east of the country by Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak.
More than 4 thousand soldiers who arrived in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship from Szczecin, Stargard, Koszalin, Prostyn and Slupsk will take part in the exercise. During the maneuvers, more than a thousand pieces of equipment and weapons will be used, including Rosomak armored personnel carriers, BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, Rak self-propelled mortars, Dana howitzers, Hibneryt i Poprad air defense systems.
The minister did not hide that the holding of these exercises is connected with the Belarusian-Russian maneuvers "West-2021".
According to the Polish minister, " the soldiers of the 12th mechanized division, who were transferred from the west to the east, are four thousand people. Two thousand more are currently helping the border guards in the protection of the border with Belarus. Together, this is six thousand, " he said.
The Russian-Belarusian strategic maneuvers "West-2021" started on Friday. They will last from 10 to 16 September. They involve about 200,000 military personnel, more than 80 aircraft and helicopters, up to 760 units of military equipment, including more than 290 tanks, more than 240 guns, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, as well as up to 15 ships.
