In Latvia, from November 22 to December 4, joint exercises of NATO countries called "Winter Shield 2021" (Winter Shield 2021) will be held.
This is stated in a message on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the country. The exercises will be held at the Adazi training ground. During the exercises, the combat capability, teamwork and compatibility of the Latvian troops and their colleagues from other NATO countries will be carried out. Winter Shield exercises are held annually in Latvia.
In particular, combat firing from howitzers, mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms will take place, as well as overflights of military aviation are planned.
The multinational combat group in Latvia will be led by Canada. This group consists of more than 1,500 soldiers from Albania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Iceland, Canada, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, who serve in Latvia on a rotational basis.
The purpose of the NATO exercises is to train the capabilities of planning and coordinating operations at the battalion level. During the exercises, it is planned to work out overcoming obstacles, evacuation of victims, defensive operations, coordination of indirect fire and air support.
The Ministry of Defense of Latvia warned the population that during the exercises, military equipment of both the Latvian and allied armed forces will move along Latvian roads, and military aircraft will fly in the airspace, writes UNIAN.