Lest Training Centre Hosts Slovak Shield 2025

Lest, May 26 (TASR) - A battalion-level tactical exercise with live combat rounds during the deployment of units in the operation formed part of an inspection day of the Slovak Shield 2025 military exercise at the Lest Training Centre, Chief-of-General-Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces Daniel Zmeko told the media on Monday. As part of the day’s demonstrations, the combat and support equipment of the units participating in Slovak Shield were presented. Zmeko added that the theme of the exercise was the defence of Slovakia and its territorial integrity. The goal is to improve the units' ability to protect themselves against enemy action through the use of active and passive measures. Also present at Lest on Monday was President Peter Pellegrini, who as Commander-in-Chief came to assess the military's readiness in terms of protecting the territorial integrity of Slovakia in close cooperation with its allies. The head of state expressed support for the further modernisation of the army, emphasising that the Slovak armed forces must be equipped with the most modern available technology in order to be able to defend Slovakia's territory at any time and protect the lives of its citizens. Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) pointed out that the most recent operation in the context of emergencies was related to the cattle-disease outbreak. Slovak Shield is the largest international military exercise on Slovak soil. It focuses on practicing the planning and command of a defensive operation on Slovak territory with the support of coalition forces. In addition to Slovak units, armed forces from Georgia, Hungary, the Indiana National Guard (USA), Poland and members of the Multinational Brigade operating in Slovakia (Spain, the Czech Republic and Romania) participated in the exercise. mf/df