VILNIUS, April 26. /TASS/. Poland has practiced the transfer of a mechanized brigade to the territory of neighboring Lithuania during exercises in the area of the Suwalki Corridor, Polish President Andrzej Duda, who observed the maneuvers, said at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
"For us, first of all, it was important to check how the transfer of our combat unit - the 15th Mechanized Brigade, including equipment - from Poland to Lithuania was going on," he said.
Duda stated that speed was of paramount importance.
"In case of a military threat, the operation must be very fast. The exercise was an excellent training session," Duda noted.
The exercise under the classified Orsha plan involves 1,500 military personnel from Lithuania's Zemaitija Motorized Infantry Brigade, Poland's 15th Mechanized Brigade, allied US and Portuguese units, as well as about 200 pieces of military equipment.
The Suwalki Corridor is a strategically important section of the Lithuanian-Polish border about 64 kilometers long, adjacent to the Kaliningrad Region of Russia and the Grodno Region of Belarus. The corridor’s loss might leave Lithuania in land isolation from its Western NATO partners.