Amidst continuing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Canada is deploying roughly 70 Edmonton-based troops to a U.S. Army Europe-led security exercise in Latvia.

Troops from the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) boarded a plane on Friday afternoon as a part of Exercise Saber Strike 2014. They will join over 2,000 other personnel from nine countries training in the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania.

Edmonton-Leduc MP James Rajotte said the joint exercise, which runs June 6 to 21 and includes Canada, Finland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the United States, is crucial during tensions in Ukraine.

“It’s obviously very important at this time with the aggression we’ve seen from Russia over the last number of months towards its neighbour, Ukraine,” Rajotte said. “It’s very important for Canada as a nation to show its commitment to it’s NATO allies.”

In Normandy on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is necessary to create conditions for talks after Russia formally annexed the Crimea region at the end of March. Putin also said that Moscow is ready for a discussion with Ukraine on settling its gas debt to Russia.

Watching the troops leave, Brig.-Gen. Dave Anderson, Commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group which includes 3PPCLI, said Saber Strike will help Canada’s forces practice how to work with its allies in both simulated computer-assisted situations and live field training.

“The first time you work with your allies shouldn’t be during operations, you should have a chance to practice that,” said Anderson, adding Saber Strike is “predominantly an airborne exercise practicing our parachute capability.”

Anderson said it’s a “complex training environment” where soldiers undertake parachuting drills, practice soldiering skills and interoperability pieces such as “do our radios talk to their radios? It’s really important that we sort this out beforehand.”

“It’s also kind of interesting that we’re doing this today, of all days, on the sixth of June commemorating the very significant airborne drop as a part of Operation Overlord for D-Day,” said Anderson.

Anderson said he’s stood on Juno Beach and was humbled by those “supermen” soldiers, acknowledging their bravery and sacrifice during the landing operations in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Roughly 45 Canadian troops have already been deployed on the exercise. The Canadian contingent will be attached to the United States Army’s 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment.

matthew.dykstra@sunmedia.ca

@SunMatDykstra