NATO naval drills on Baltic Sea focus on Russia

Major naval drills about to start in the Baltic Sea involving some 30 ships and more than 3,000 Western service members will for the first time practice how to respond to a Russian assault in the region, Germany's navy chief said on Friday, Report informs, citing Reuters.

"We are sending a clear message of vigilance to Russia: Not on our watch," Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack told journalists in Berlin. "Credible deterrence must include the ability to attack."

The two-week Northern Coasts exercise, set to start September 9, will see troops from all NATO countries on the Baltic Sea, plus soon-to-be member Sweden and non-Baltic allies the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, train side by side. They will practice amphibious operations and strikes from sea to land.

The US navy will send the Mesa Verde into the drills, Kaack said, a ship of more than 200 metres (656 ft) length, designed to transport and land some 800 marines in an amphibious assault.