Some 3,000 US ground troops along with over 100 US armored vehicles, heavy equipment and attack helicopters, have been deployed to the Baltic state of Latvia for exercises.

NATO is trumpeting the operation, which spans Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as Operation Atlantic Resolve, and Pentagon officials say the operation is targeted at neighboring Russia.

General John O’Connor, speaking from Latvia earlier today, said the tanks and armored vehicles sent to the region would remain after the operation and “for aas long as required to deter Russian aggression.”

The Baltic states and Poland have been hyping the risk of a Russian invasion in recent months, aiming to get NATO to pledge larger deployments of Western troops to their nations. The US, eager to needle Russia, has eagerly gone on with the narrative, adding more and more troops to the region.