Georgian President Margvelashvili opened the event at Vaziani's military airfield / Photo from @2dCavalryRegt
NATO's large-scale Noble Partner 2017 drills have started in Georgia, participating are 2,800 servicemen from eight countries, including from Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian-language service Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty).
Of them, there are over 1,400 Americans and 30 Ukrainians, Radio Svoboda said.
The venue is the Vaziani military base, which is not far from the Georgian city of Tbilisi. The exercise, which will last until August 12, was officially opened by Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili at Vaziani's military airfield.
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This is the third such exercise of the Noble Partner series.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who will arrive in Georgia on a two-day visit on Monday, July 31, is expected to attend the drills.
The current exercise in Georgia is reported to be part of a larger event scheduled to begin in countries in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region on Sunday with the participation of 50,000 troops.
NATO, its members and partner countries have recently been forced to build up their defense because of Russian aggression.