The plane landed at the Hamburg airport with US troops this morning, carrying passengers who will take part in a large-scale NATO Defender Europe 20 exercise. According to Deutsche Welle earlier, four US cargo ships arrived at the Bremerhaven port, bringing military equipment to Europe.
Defender Europe 20 will be one of the largest exercises in the last 25 years. During the maneuvers, up to 20,000 soldiers will travel from the US, pass through Germany, and get to Poland eventually. According to the plan, 7,000 of them had to arrive in Hamburg.
The training will take place amid protests by pacifists, who will hold rallies in Germany tomorrow on February 22.
Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, announced on February 4 that he would have a harsh response to NATO exercises.
According to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, large-scale maneuvers by Defender Europe are not directed against Russia.
