NATO has for a long time held back from major maneuvers on the eastern flank. Now ‘Steadfast Defender’ is about to become the biggest exercise since the end of the Cold War. About 90,000 soldiers are mobilized to deter Russia.
Between February and June, training will take place in particular on alerting and moving national and multinational land forces. “The alliance will demonstrate its ability to strengthen the Euro-Atlantic region by deploying US forces,” NATO Commander Chris Cavoli said on Thursday. The soldiers come from NATO countries and Sweden.
The Russian attack on allied territory is being rehearsed
The scenario of the major maneuvers in Germany, Poland and the Baltic states is a Russian attack on allied territory, leading to the declaration of the so-called alliance case according to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. The latter regulates the obligation to provide assistance in the alliance and states that an armed attack against one or more allies is regarded as an attack against all.
Poland at the center of the great maneuver
According to the Daily Mail, Britain alone plans to send 20,000 soldiers to this mission. The British are also sending one of the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers, eight warships and F-35 fighter jets. In addition to Germany, the focus is mainly on the frontline state of Poland, which borders Belarus, which is loyal to Russia. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the country has rapidly become more important to the North Atlantic defense alliance.
51,000 soldiers were mobilized for exercises in 2018
The largest NATO exercise to date since the end of the Cold War was organized in 2018 with a focus on Norway. About 51,000 soldiers were involved. The last NATO maneuvers larger than the currently planned exercise took place before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. At that time, they included the series of maneuvers ‘Return of the Armed Forces to Germany’. In 1988, for example, approximately 125,000 military personnel were involved.
For almost two years, Ukraine has fended off an attack from Russia with enormous military assistance, mainly from NATO countries.
Source: Krone
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