"The threat Russia poses is very urgent ...we must be ready now'

BRITISH troops are leading Nato war games on Estonia's border with Russia in the alliance's largest military drill since the Cold War.

- Tara Fair

The Army has deployed its latest Apache AH-64E attack helicopters to spearhead the exercise, which also saw nearly 200 soldiers take part in a ground assault yesterday.

It is the first time on Nato drills for the newly serviced chopper.

The battlefield practice comes as tensions flare between the alliance and Russia after undeclared Kremlin spies were found in the UK, Estonia, Poland and Germany.

Brigadier Giles Harris, commander of the UK contribution to Nato's enhanced Forward Presence mission in Estonia and Poland, said after the exercise: "The threat Russia poses is very urgent.

"I'm not going to second guess what may or may not happen but as military personnel, our job is to be ready. There's no point waiting to get ready, we must be ready now.

"What is playing out in Ukraine provides us with the lessons we need to learn."

Brigadier Berry added: "Our mindset is, whether this threat is today, next year or in 10 years' time, we must make ourselves as ready as we can be right now."