Status: 03/01/2022 1:27 p.m
In Slovakia, the US military has started a large-scale maneuver. According to the Slovakian Ministry of Defense, the two-week exercise had been in preparation for two years.
Against the background of Russia’s war against Ukraine, a two-week major maneuver of the Slovak and US armed forces called “Saber Strike” (German: saber cut) has begun in Slovakia. This was confirmed by the spokesman for the Slovakian Ministry of Defense, Stefan Zemanovic.
Fewer US soldiers came into the country for the exercise than originally planned, according to Zemanovic. This is not due to the war in Ukraine, but purely for organizational reasons. Instead of 3,000, just over 2,000 soldiers would take part, around a third of them Slovakian and two-thirds American.
Maneuvers planned for two years
According to Zemanovic, most of the maneuvers are concentrated on the Lest military training area in the south-central part of Slovakia and the Sliac military airport in the vicinity. The Kuchyna military airport north of Bratislava and the Levice region in south-west Slovakia are also included.
According to the Slovakian Ministry of Defense, the maneuver had been prepared for almost two years for the period from March 1 to 14, regardless of the situation in neighboring Ukraine.