US soldiers hoping for an exotic winter posting to one of their many tropical overseas bases must have been disappointed to land in icy Lithuania. Nevertheless, their presence will help to heat up military tensions in the region.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces announced on Sunday that members of the NATO military bloc had conducted a series of tank and rocket tests just 8 kilometers from the demarcation line with Belarus, one of Moscow’s closest allies. Embattled Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the border closed in October, amid rising political tensions and spiraling coronavirus figures across Europe. Pictures of the war games released by Vilnius show soldiers firing shoulder-mounted rockets and advanced Leopard-2 battle tanks facing off across the border. German, Dutch and Norwegian troops were said to have taken part.
Continue reading https://on.rt.com/axrk