British soldiers are joined by French and Danish troops in a training exercise to prepare them for their roles in a Nato task force PAThe first British troops will be deployed to Estonia this week on an operation to deter Russian aggression on Nato’s eastern flank, the defence secretary said yesterday. The soldiers from 5th Battalion, The Rifles, are the “first wave” of a total of 800 British troops that will be stationed in the country as part of a Nato build-up in the three Baltic states and Poland. There have been warnings that Moscow will attempt to discredit the mission by targeting British and other Nato forces in honeytrap operations and other dirty tricks. “This is the year in which Nato is deploying its enhanced forward presence,” Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, said during defence questions in parliament. “We will also be deploying in Poland and in…

Source: The Times March 14, 2017 00:11 UTC