Eliot Engel, The Huffington Post (USA)
Today, in a shipyard in northwest France, two warships are receiving finishing touches. These ships are more than twice the length of a football field. They each can carry 700 troops, 60 armored vehicles, four landing craft, and 16 helicopters. They represent the state of the art in amphibious assault vessels. And when these two Mistral-class ships leave port in France, they'll sail to Russia where they will enhance the military strength of a nation that forcibly annexed Crimea and is posing increasing challenges to Ukraine and countries across Eastern Europe.