As of: February 8, 2024, 12:54 p.m
By: Babett Gumbrecht
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A NATO flag blows in the wind.
© Daniel Naupold/dpa
In March, exercises will also take place in Sweden and Finland in the largest NATO exercise in decades.
The Kremlin is already taking countermeasures.
Kiev - The countdown has begun: In just under four weeks, soldiers will be carrying out military exercises directly on the border with Russia as part of the NATO exercise “Steadfast Defender”.
The Kremlin sees the planned combat exercises in Sweden and Finland as a provocation - and is now announcing its countermeasures: "Our country will not simply accept the strengthening of NATO's military potential near its borders and will take appropriate defensive measures to counter the threats to its national security contain it,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to the
Russian news agency Tass
.
“Steadfast Defender”: NATO begins largest military exercise in decades
Background: The NATO exercise “Steadfast Defender” has been running since the beginning of February.
This should last until the end of May.
90,000 soldiers from all 31 alliance countries are taking part in the large-scale exercise, including accession candidate Sweden.
According to NATO information, the emergency of a Russian attack on the alliance's territory is to be rehearsed.
The Nordic Response exercises are planned for the beginning of March.
According to the Swedish Ministry of Defense, the focus of the exercise will be in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland and in the corresponding air and sea areas.
The activity will also be practiced at sea with over 50 registered submarines, frigates, corvettes, aircraft carriers and various ships.
Russia saw Finland's accession in the spring of last year as a provocation.
“This new round of militaristic activities carries the risk of further escalation of tensions in the Euro-Arctic region,” Zakharova emphasized.
Rehearsals for an emergency: NATO stands up to Russia
For NATO, the military exercise directly on the country's border with Russia is above all one thing: rehearsals for an emergency.
“We are preparing for a conflict with Russia and terrorist groups,” said the chairman of the NATO military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, after two days of deliberations at NATO headquarters in Brussels in January.
“If they attack us, we have to be ready,” the
AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
Last summer, NATO held the large-scale NATO air force exercise “Air Defender” over German airspace.
It was the largest relocation exercise of air forces since NATO was founded almost 75 years ago.
250 aircraft and around 10,000 soldiers from 25 countries took part.
(
bg
/
dpa/afp
)