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Canadian troops will be permanently stationed in Europe starting this June — for the first time since the end of the Cold War — as a deterrent against Russian agitations in the region.

Led by the Edmonton-based 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, a contingent of about 450 Canadians will be headquartered at the Adazi military complex, about 30 kilometres northeast of the tiny Baltic country’s capital of Riga.

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From there Canada will lead a battalion of between 1,200 to 1,500 soldiers from Albania, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Spain as part of NATO’s latest operation, Enhanced Forward Presence.

Some 4,000 soldiers are being deployed in four multinational battle groups in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia to complement and bolster each host nation’s military capabilities and building interoperability.

Canada’s contribution will be made up of 3rd Canadian Division troops previously destined for the Drawsko Pomorskie training area in northwestern Poland as part of Operation Reassurance, which began in 2014.