WARSAW, February 21. /TASS/. The US-led Saber Strike international military exercise kicked off in Poland, the Polish Armed Forces General Command reported on Monday.

"At the training ground of the 17th mechanized brigade in Miedzyrzecz [the Lobusz Voivodeship in western Poland] a ceremony commencing the beginning of the Saber Strike 2022 drills took place," the Polish military command informed.

"The drills will involve about 1,300 Polish soldiers and about 300 pieces of equipment, including Rosomak armored personnel carriers," it said.

The scenario of the military drills envisages relocating US troops from Germany to the Baltic states through Polish territory. At the Bemowo Piskie training ground (the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland’s northeast), the Polish troops and their allies will conduct joint maneuvers.

Saber Strike is an annual international tactical exercise held in Poland every two years. Its basic goal is to train troop response to regional crises, enhance border protection and counter threats.

As the Polish army highlighted, "the Saber Strike 2022 exercise will run in accordance with the program of drills of Poland’s Armed Forces for 2022." It also said that these maneuvers "are planned in advance, are not related to any current operation and are a good example of joint capabilities, demonstrating that NATO allies and partners are stronger together."

In the past two weeks, US troops have been arriving together with military hardware and equipment in southeastern Poland to bolster NATO’s eastern flank under the pretext of a threat of Russia’s alleged invasion of Ukraine as claimed by the West. The first US combat team numbered 1,700 troops, with 3,000 joining later. Before the arrival of the American contingent, about 5,000 US troops were stationed in Poland under arrangements with NATO and as part of bilateral cooperation.