Show of force on Russia's border

UK and US troops prep for 'urgent threat' in wargame

- SIMON MURPHY

BRITISH forces put on a show of strength in Russia's backyard yesterday in a Nato exercise, as an Army chief called the Kremlin threat "very urgent".

State-of-the-art British helicopters swooped over a land assault in Estonia as part of the alliance's biggest wargame since the Cold War.

British and US troops were supported by two Apache AH-64E choppers, making their debut in a NATO exercise, and even patrol dogs got in on the act.

Explosions rang out as troops simulated a battlefield scenario less than three hours from the Russian border in Nurmsi, central Estonia.