1,800 troops from 18 states: NATO launches biggest ever exercise in Ukraine (VIDEO/PHOTOS)

NATO has brought together 1,800 troops from 18 countries in block’s biggest ever exercise on Ukrainian soil. 

The US-led exercises, which see annual Saber Guardian and Rapid Trident drills combined, were launched on Monday near the city of Lvov in western Ukraine and are scheduled to continue until the end of July.

“Multinational exercises have been conducted in Ukraine since 1995, however it is safe to say that this is the largest multinational exercise held in Ukraine to date,” Don Wrenn public affairs public affairs specialist for US Army Europe is cited by Newsweek.

Besides Ukraine and the US, the troops from Germany, Spain, Turkey, Canada, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as non-members Serbia, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan are participating in the exercises.

The international troops will be practicing casualty evacuation and first aid, reactions to being ambushed, training to identify improvised explosive devices and perform simulated outpost operations, he said.

“It is not anything to do with the political situation. This exercise was planned ahead of time. Countries were notified that it would occur and we can't directly connect with the situation going on,” Wrenn stressed.