US launches biggest NATO drill in Europe since Cold War

Nearly 5,000 soldiers from 11 NATO allies are taking part in four weeks of "simultaneous multinational airborne operations" across Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania that began Saturday, the US army said in a statement, describing "Swift Response 15” as the largest Allied airborne training event on the continent since the end of the Cold War. No reference was made to the war in Ukraine where fighting has escalated in recent days. On Aug. 26, allied warplanes will drop more than 1,000 paratroopers and equipment onto the Hohenfels training area in Germany.