Some 20,000 soldiers from nine NATO countries transporting battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other 3,500 units of equipment military equipment crossed the Vistula river in a major NATO manoeuvre to test its readiness against Russia.

The operation - Dragon 24 - took place on Poland's longest river near Korzeniewo, which is about 100 kilometres south of Gdansk. Of the 20,000 soldiers, 15,000 were from Poland, the Polish armed forces said.

Dragon 24 is part of the larger NATO operation dubbed Steadfast Defender, which will last around four months and stretches from Norway to countries such as Romania. The defence alliance has mobilized around 90,000 soldiers in total for it.

There are increasing warnings from European officials that Russia could be ready to test the solidarity of NATO allies at some point in the next few years.

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(Thu-bnail Picture just For Ilustration)

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