New war games launched in Latvia amid Ukraine crisis

Around 1,000 troops from six countries will take part in military exercises in Latvia this week.

Troops and air forces from  Latvia, United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Bulgaria will participate in the Steadfast Javelin military exercise from September 1-10.

The joint land and air force training aims strengthen cooperation between NATO member states, develop interoperability between allied armed forces, and improve armed forces' planning, coordination, organization and execution capabilities, Latvia's defense ministry says. Participants in the exercise will use NATO armed forces' armored units and aerial capabilities.

A separate joint military exercise will be held on September 29-October 6. The land forces exercise will be attended by troops from Latvia and over 1,000 soldiers from Estonia, the United States and Great Britain.