The military contingent of all member states and also Sweden will participate in NATO’s several-month-long military exercises, and more than 1,100 combat vehicles will be involved, including tanks, armored vehicles, planes and ships, Latvia’s ambassador to NATO Māris Riekstiņš said in an interview to LTV’s “Morning Panorama” program.
“I can confirm that the number of military personnel planned to be involved in the exercises in the territory of 13 NATO member states will be 90 thousand. The military contingent of all NATO member states and also Sweden will participate, there will be more than 1,100 combat vehicles, including tanks, armored vehicles, airplanes, ships,” said Riekstins.
He also pointed out that citizens should look at the history of NATO as a collective defense organization, it confirms that NATO has always been able to deter any potential aggressor from actions related to threatening NATO territory.
The LETA agency already reported that NATO announced months-long military exercises with the participation of 90,000 soldiers aimed at deterring Russian aggression, which will be the largest NATO exercises since the end of the Cold War.
The scenario of the maneuvers envisages a Russian attack on the territory of allies, which triggers Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which provides for collective defense.
Article 5 was triggered only once – after the September 11 attacks on the USA.
Before that, the largest NATO exercises after the Cold War were held in 2018. The Trident Juncture exercise took place mainly in Norway and involved approximately 51,000 soldiers.
“Steadfast Defender” will consist of a series of smaller individual exercises and will cover the area from North America to NATO’s eastern flank close to the Russian border.
Soldiers of the Polish Army of the NATO extended presence battle group “Latvija” with PT-91 battle tanks take part in the military exercises “Namejs” and “Silver Arrow” at the Ādažu training ground, Latvia, on September 29, 2023. Photo: EPA/VALDA KALNINA
2024-01-24 06:53:48
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