NATO massively exercises near the border with Russia
The US Black Hawk helicopter during the Swift Response exercise in North Macedonia – Photo: BBC
The large-scale exercise called Hedgehog 2022 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began in Estonia on May 16.
According to the BBC, the exercise was scheduled before the war in Ukraine broke out and is expected to last until June 3.
NATO says the purpose of the exercises is to “enhance the readiness and interoperability” of the alliance’s forces.
About 15,000 troops took part in the exercise in Estonia. It is one of the largest exercises held in the country since 1991.
The exercise, which took place about 64km from the nearest Russian military base, simulated an attack from Russia on Estonia. Major General Veiko-Vello Palm, deputy commander of the Estonian Self-Defense Forces, denied the drills were related to hostilities in Ukraine.
According to a NATO statement, the US Navy’s Wasp Kearsarge-class amphibious assault ship will also take part in the exercise.
According to Radio Russia Today Russia, the Estonian drills are just one part of large-scale NATO military operations near Russia’s borders.
Another Baltic country, Lithuania (Lithuania) is holding the exercise Iron Wolfwith the participation of 3,000 NATO troops and 1,000 military equipment, including the German Leopard 2 tank.
Two of the biggest NATO exercises – Defender Europe and Swift Response – is taking place in Poland and eight other countries, with the participation of 18,000 troops from 20 countries, according to a NATO statement dated May 13.
“Exercises like this show that NATO stands firm and stands ready to defend its allies against any threat,” said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.
In June, the Baltic states and Poland will hold drills. NATO describes it as “Europe’s largest air and missile defense exercise”, with the participation of 23 countries.
Russia considers NATO a security threat and has warned of “consequences” for future admissions of new members. Meanwhile, Sweden and Finland have confirmed their intention to join NATO and will submit their application on May 18.
Sweden remained neutral during World War II and avoided military alliances for more than two centuries.
Finland shares a 1,300km-long border with Russia. Until last week, it remained outside of NATO to avoid confrontation with its neighbor to the east.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg suggested that a quick review of Sweden and Finland could be possible, and temporary security arrangements could be established in response to any retaliatory actions by Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is closely monitoring moves from NATO, and he believes that the expansion of this military alliance will not strengthen the security of Europe.
“This is a serious matter, one that concerns us and we will be watching closely,” Peskov said.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: tuoitre.vn – Read the original article here
