Armed forces from 10 countries are participating in the latest military exercises. The Anakonda 18 exercises are aimed at integrating national and allied command structures and armed forces in the process of strategic defense, preceded by actions aimed at preventing hybrid attacks.
The exercise will for the first time be held not only on Polish soil but also in the Baltic states and on the Baltic sea. One of the exercises will consist of rescuing hostages from a ferry.
The Anakonda exercises are a part of the realization of the decisions taken during the NATO summit in Warsaw on strengthening its eastern flank while maintaining NATO operating standards.
The eastern flank
The Warsaw NATO summit in 2016 took strategic decisions to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. The decision was a consequence of Russian aggression in Ukraine and security concerns of Poland and the Baltic states.
The Anakonda exercises have been held once every two years since 2006. Up until now the biggest edition was held in 2016 and involved 31,000 soldiers from 23 countries. These were the biggest military exercises held in Poland since 1989.
