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In Pristina today took place the
opening ceremony of 'Defender Europe 2023,' a vast multinational
military exercise spearheaded by the United States and in which
7,000 U.S. military personnel and another 17,000 soldiers from
25 mostly NATO countries, including Italy, will participate
until June 2. Kosovo - present with 1,300 men of its Security
Force - is this year's host country for the exercise scheduled
to take place in several European countries, from Slovenia to
Albania to northern Macedonia. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani,
Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Defense Minister Arben Mehaj, and
U.S. Ambassador to Pristina Jeffrey Hovenier spoke at the
opening ceremony-which began with the national anthems of the
U.S. and Kosovo. "As we witness the terrible consequences of the
war unleashed by Putin in Ukraine, this exercise takes on great
significance," said the U.S. ambassador, for whom it is an
initiative to strengthen the interaction between the U.S. and
allied countries in order to protect the European continent from
the risks of possible aggression. The aim is also to improve
interoperability between the Armed Forces of the various
European countries. Premier Kurti, pointing out that the Kosovo
Security Force ranks fourth among all participating countries in
terms of number of committed personnel, said the security of
Europe is a vital interest of Kosovo. 'Defender Europe 2023,' he
noted, is being held in a very tense reality, 15 months after
the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Kosovo, he pointed out, the
theater of operations will be Gjakova airport and Boka locality.
