British troops join the biggest Nato exercise since the Cold War as 31,000 soldiers put on a show of force against Russia
Massive training exercise to beef up security in response to aggression from Vladimir Putin
HUNDREDS of British and US troops parachute into Poland in a massive show of force against Russia.
They were part of the biggest war games in Europe since the end of the Cold War, designed to beef up the Nato alliance's defences in the face of increasing aggression from Vladimir Putin.
It comes as we revealed today how the Kremlin sent an attack submarine into the English Channel just days before England's footballers go into battle against Russia at Euro 2016.
Exercise Anakonda-16 involves 31,000 troops from 24 nations including the UK, US, Poland and Germany.
Some 3,000 vehicles, 105 planes and 12 ships are in action in ten days of simulated war manoeuvres across eastern Europe. Five former Soviet 'Partnership for Peace' countries including Ukraine are taking part along with 19 Nato members.
US General Ben Hodges, leading 14,000 American troops in the exercise, said Western forces had to be ready to defend their allies at short notice.
He said: "If there ever was a crisis we would have to be able to mass quickly to converge forces quickly, within about 72 hours."
The US has been focused on threats from the Middle East in recent years but is focusing on Europe once again in response to alarming signals from Moscow.
Nato and the United States said this spring that they will switch their defence doctrine from assurance to deterrence in eastern Europe in response to a "resurgent and aggressive Russia".
Worrying developments include the annexation of Crimea, a Kremlin-backed paramilitary campaign in eastern Ukraine and interventions in Syria to prop up dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Poland's Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz said the war games are aimed at testing the alliance's "ability to defend its eastern flank".
Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said it shows "Nato is ready to respond to any threat".
US Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley said America's presence "demonstrates that we are shoulder to shoulder with the Polish people and that the exercises would "improve our collective readiness".
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Around 1,000 British personnel are taking part in Anakonda, joining forces with 14,000 from the US and 12,000 from Poland.
A mass jump by 2,000 paratroopers from Britain, the US, Poland and Portugal formed the centrepiece of the first day's action.
They parachuted along with vehicles intro a grassy plain on the outskirts of the city of Torun with the "mission" to secure a bridge on the Vistula River.
The US Army's 82nd Airborne Division flew more than 4,600 miles directly from their base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Their Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft were refuelled in midair.
The British troops flew from a Nato base in Ramstein, Germany, while the Poles arrived from their base in Krakow.
The drill is being held just weeks before Nato holds a crucial summit in Warsaw expected to decide significant numbers of troops and equipment will be based in Poland and in the Baltic states.
Russia, which is closely monitoring the manoeuvres, considers the presence of Nato troops close to its border as a security threat.
Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Exercise Anakonda "does not contribute to the atmosphere of trust and security on the continent."
“Unfortunately we are still witnessing a deficit in mutual trust.”
Poland and other nations in the region say any military presence or exercises are purely defensive and deterrent measures.
General Miroslaw Rozanski of Poland said the exercise "confirmed that we can count on our friends who are capable of flying over the Atlantic to be here with us in a matter of hours."
However the war games were marred by tragedy today as a Polish motorist died in a crash with a US military truck on the A-18 motorway near the town of Swietoszow.
Russia announced today is working on setting up a joint air defence system with six former Soviet states.
Mr Putin has previously warned Washington he will consider measures to "end threats" from Nato's missile defence shield.
Sabre-rattling Russian forces have made a habit of provocative incursions into Western defences and RAF jets have been scrambled dozens of times to intercept Russian bombers flying close to UK air space.
Today we revealed how the Royal Navy frigate HMS Kent tracked war sub the Stary Oskol through the North Sea.
It was due to pass the Straits of Dover at 10am, days before Roy Hodgson's boys take on Russia in Marseilles on Saturday.