Special Envoy in Rukla (Lithuania)
A low rumble rises from the forest, where Lithuanian mushroom pickers wander without paying much attention, soon followed by a huge cloud of dust.
The column of German Leopard tanks, each weighing sixty tons, has emerged through the pines.
Launched at high speed, they make their way to Rukla station, 80 km north-east of Vilnius, to be loaded onto flat wagons.
In a few hours, the impressive convoy will leave this garrison town for the training site of Pabradé, near the Belarusian border, to participate in Exercise Eager Leopard.
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Macron appears as an ally among the Balts, against Putin's Russia
Involving nearly 900 soldiers and 150 vehicles including around fifty armored vehicles, it simulates an enemy invasion and aims to test the defensive capacities of the Reinforced Advanced Force (eFP) deployed by NATO, since 2016, in the three Baltic Republics.
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The stake is to keep the adversary in respect as long as possible,
explains the lieutenant-colonel.
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