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Finland’s Lapland to take part in major NATO artillery exercise in November

Up to 3,600 soldiers will take part in the exercise in Finland, including about 1,250 troops from other countries

HELSINKI, October 15. /TASS/. Finland’s Lapland will be one of the five territories that will host the largest NATO artillery exercise ever held in Europe, the Finnish Defense Forces said in a statement.

Exercise Lightning Strike 24 is set to take place from November 4-28.

"The scope of the exercise shows that we can get support from allies very quickly if needed, as well as command allied forces. This is a good example that our own field artillery, combined with Allied capabilities, forms a reliable defense in northern Finland and NATO," said Finland’s Exercise Director Janne Makitalo.

Up to 3,600 soldiers will take part in the exercise in Finland, including about 1,250 troops from other countries, according to the statement.

Lightning Strike 24 is a part of Dynamic Front 25, a series of US-led exercises conducted in five countries: Finland, Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland. The series, which will be focused on Lapland this time, will involve a total of about 5,000 soldiers from 28 countries.

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