NATO Drills Commence in Eastern Europe

United States-led nato drills in the Baltic states and Poland began Monday in a move intended to reassure Russia’s neighbors amid tensions over Ukraine.

More than 6,000 troops from 13 nato countries are participating in the Saber Strike 2015 drills in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland—all European Union and nato members.

The exercises will run until June 19 and include Abrams tanks and B-52 bombers.

nato has been guarding the skies over the three small Baltic states since 2004, when they joined the defense alliance but lacked the airpower to monitor their own airspace. The games come just weeks after the Baltic states requested a large permanent nato presence in their countries as a deterrent against Russia.