MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Poland on Monday will see the start of the Dragon-24 exercise involving 20,000 troops, which is part of the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise - NATO’s largest in recent decades, Polish President Andrzej Duda said before flying to Paris for a meeting of the leaders of a number of Western countries on support for Ukraine.

"Literally today, under the NATO large-scale Steadfast Defender exercise plan, the Dragon-24 drills in Poland begin," Duda said. The Polish Armed Forces Joint Command also declared the start of the wargames.

A total of 20,000 military personnel from 10 NATO member states, including mechanized infantry, armored units and commandos, as well as 3,500 vehicles will participate.