WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US military forces consisting of Army soldiers and Marines have begun a series of military exercises in Romania, according to a Marine Corps statement on Friday.
"Marines are in Romania with the US Army for Platinum Eagle 17.2," the Twitter statement said.
Platinum Eagle is an annual exercise where multi-national troops practice "integrated attacks" to increase cooperation and combat power between the United States and their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and partners, according to the Marine Corps.
The exercises this year include forces from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Moldova and the United States.
NATO exercises in Eastern Europe are part of a US-led military buildup in response to tensions with Russia that were prompted by a 2014 coup that ousted a democratically elected government in Ukraine, which had sought closer ties with Moscow.
