US troops to hold exercises in Georgia, Ukraine

US troops on Monday began military exercises near the Russian border in ex-Soviet Ukraine and were poised to launch them in Georgia, amid tense relations between Moscow and Washington, officials said.A ceremony inaugurating the Sea Breeze-2008 NATO exercise was held off Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Ukrainian defence ministry spokeswoman said, against anti-NATO protests and a hostile reaction from officials in Russia.The NATO exercises "will increase political and military tensions in Europe as a whole," Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency in Moscow.Sea Breeze-2008, which lasts until July 26, will also include forces from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia and Turkey, officials said.Separate military exercises dubbed Immediate Response-2008 are due to start in Georgia on Tuesday with Armenian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian and US troops taking part, a Georgian defence ministry spokeswoman said."The US-Georgia joint exercises will be held at the Vaziani military base" less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Russian border with a total of 1,650 servicemen taking part, said the spokeswoman, Nana Intskirveli.
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As in the days of Noah....