Some 20,000 soldiers from nine NATO countries transporting battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other military equipment crossed the Vistula river on Monday in a major NATO manoeuvre to test its readiness against Russia. The operation – Dragon 24 – took place on Poland’s longest river near Korzeniewo, which is about 100 kilometres south of Gdansk. Of the 20,000 soldiers, 15,000 were from Poland, the Polish armed forces said. “We are showing what capabilities we have and we are combining this with the determination to use them,” said NATO General Gunnar Brügner. Overcoming a body of wa…