CHISINAU. April 8 (Interfax) - Personnel from the Moldovan and Georgian armed forces are taking part in NATO's Sea Shield 2024 military drills starting in Romania on Monday.
The exercise will continue until April 21, involving 12 NATO countries, i.e. Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as partners from Moldova and Georgia, the Romanian Defense Ministry said.
"Over 2,200 troops and 135 items of hardware, inducing 27 sea and river ships, 17 planes, and 91 automobiles and boats, will conduct exercises in the Black Sea, the coastal area, and the Danube delta," it said.
The exercise is aimed at practicing measures against unlawful sea and river activities and ensuring security of important coastal infrastructure facilities, it said.
Such drills were first held in 2015.