US troops to mount exercise on Danish Baltic island
US troops are planning to take part in a military exercise on the island of Bornholm next month, marking the third time in three
years US soldiers have trained on Danish soil.
Denmark's defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, revealed the planned exercise, which will take plance between May 1st and May 7th in a briefing to the Danish parliament's defence committee.
As part of the exercise, US troops will ship an unnamed weapons system to Bornholm Airport, and then set it up in a military exercise area, but would not then fire any shots or missiles.
"The exercise has a military training aspect, but also sends a signal about the solidarity of the alliance, about American commitment to security in Europe and in our own immediate area," Lund Poulsen said in the briefing.
US troops took part in similar exercises in 2022 and 2023 on the strategically placed island, which lies 360km away from the Russian and controls access to the western Baltic.
The US had requested permission to train on Bornholm, which the Danish government then accepted. There is no change in Danish armed forces' assessment of the threat against Bornholm or Denmark, Lund Poulsen stressed.
In December, Denmark entered into an agreement with the US, which permits US soldiers and equipment to be kept permanently on Danish soil, with hte US granted access to the Karup, Skrydstrup and Aalborg air bases.
When US troops held a similar exercise on the island in 2022, with a large missile system deployed to the island, the Russian ambassador to Denmark sent an official warning.
"This can be seen as taking a step towards changing Bornholm from an island of peace to a potential military bridgehead," Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, told the Danish broadcaster TV2.
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Denmark's defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, revealed the planned exercise, which will take plance between May 1st and May 7th in a briefing to the Danish parliament's defence committee.
As part of the exercise, US troops will ship an unnamed weapons system to Bornholm Airport, and then set it up in a military exercise area, but would not then fire any shots or missiles.
"The exercise has a military training aspect, but also sends a signal about the solidarity of the alliance, about American commitment to security in Europe and in our own immediate area," Lund Poulsen said in the briefing.
US troops took part in similar exercises in 2022 and 2023 on the strategically placed island, which lies 360km away from the Russian and controls access to the western Baltic.
The US had requested permission to train on Bornholm, which the Danish government then accepted. There is no change in Danish armed forces' assessment of the threat against Bornholm or Denmark, Lund Poulsen stressed.
In December, Denmark entered into an agreement with the US, which permits US soldiers and equipment to be kept permanently on Danish soil, with hte US granted access to the Karup, Skrydstrup and Aalborg air bases.
When US troops held a similar exercise on the island in 2022, with a large missile system deployed to the island, the Russian ambassador to Denmark sent an official warning.
"This can be seen as taking a step towards changing Bornholm from an island of peace to a potential military bridgehead," Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, told the Danish broadcaster TV2.
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