Next week, NATO will begin the largest military exercises in recent decades. About 90,000 military personnel, aircraft and ships of the Alliance and Sweden will take part in them.
This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Alliance, Christopher Cavoli, Reuters reports.
During the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise, allied forces will practice transferring forces from North America across the Atlantic to Europe to the eastern borders. In addition, the defense and protection of critical infrastructure is being worked out. In effect, these maneuvers will demonstrate NATOʼs ability to rapidly deploy troops for war.
Training will continue until May. Bild notes that the last time NATO conducted such large-scale exercises was in 1988. At that time, 125,000 servicemen took part in them.
- In 2023, NATO countries conducted the largest air exercises in the history of the union in Europe. Western politicians, in particular US President Joe Biden, put forward the thesis that Russia may attack one of the NATO countries if it succeeds in the Ukrainian war. Russia classically rejects this possibility.