(VOVWORLD) - Britain will commit 20,000 military personnel to serve across Europe in a major NATO exercise in the first half of this year, as well as warships and fighter jets, the defence ministry said on Monday.
 Banners displaying the NATO logo are placed at the entrance of new NATO headquarters during the move to the new building, in Brussels, Belgium, April 19, 2018. (Photo: Reuters) |
The deployment includes 16,000 British army troops who will be based in Eastern Europe from February to June, an aircraft carrier strike group and F35B Lightning attack jets and surveillance planes.
NATO's Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 marks the Western alliance's 75th year.
The NATO alliance has boosted the number of combat-ready troops after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out almost two years ago and has continued to support Kyiv with military, economic and humanitarian aid.
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that Britain will increase its support for Ukraine in the next financialyear to 3.2 billion USD.