German and US Air Force aircraft ahead of the Air Defender 2023 NATO exercise, at Jagel Airfield, Germany. Source: U.S. Air Force

Rome, June 18 (RHC)-- NATO has dubbed it 'Air Defender 23'; the biggest deployment exercise ever conducted by the Western military alliance, hosted by Germany, kicked off close to the Italian border, yet millions of Italians have been kept in the dark.

The two week military drill, which involves up to 250 aircraft and 10,000 soldiers from 25 countries, comes as fighting escalates in Ukraine with former NATO Chief, Blair Rasmussen, warning that NATO members may send troops to the war torn country.

NATO's Air Defender 23 exercise began on Monday with an air show in Wunstorf Air Base in northern Germany.
In the next few days participants will also train in crisis situations over other flight zones, including a small strip of Southern Germany, about 40 minutes away from the border with Italy.

The Italian mainstream media have chosen not to follow up the story.

One organizer of the protests against NATO, who asked that she name not be used, said:  "I am afraid the exercise which begins today will only add fuel to the fire at [sic] international level.  It must be said, however, that a number of countries including China, Brazil, Indonesia, and, the Vatican, have been working to promote peace talks."