NATO moves troops to two newest member states on Russia's western flank, carrying out large-scale actions

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conducted large-scale military exercises in its two member countries Finland and Sweden last week.

NATO kéo quân đến hai nước thành viên mới nhất ở sườn Tây của Nga, tiến hành các hành động quy mô lớn

French soldiers fire a Ceasar cannon during a NATO exercise in Lapland, Finland, November 17. (Source: AFP)

AFP news agency reported that on November 17, NATO conducted a large-scale artillery exercise in Finland, the first time since admitting this Nordic country in April 2023.

The exercise, involving 3,600 troops from the host country, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and several other NATO members, was conducted in sub-zero temperatures at the Rovajarvi firing range in Lapland, northern Finland, the largest military training area in Europe.

According to the exercise commander, Finnish Army Colonel Janne Makitalo, the exercise helps coordinate multi-sided tactical firepower for NATO field artillery forces, and trains soldiers to handle different situations in challenging weather and terrain conditions in the Arctic region.

French Army Captain Romain, commander of the Ecrins battalion of the 93rd Artillery Regiment, said the exercise aimed to enhance interoperability and unified artillery firepower deployment among NATO allies.

The exercise in Finland is part of NATO's largest artillery exercise in Europe, Dynamic Front 25, which runs from November 4-28 with live-fire exercises in Finland, Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland.

Earlier, on November 15, the Swedish military announced that the country's navy and about 1,200 soldiers from 10 NATO countries, as well as corvettes, frigates, support ships, helicopters and aircraft from several countries such as Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK, had conducted a large-scale submarine search exercise called Dynamic Merlin 24.

The week-long exercise mainly involved ships from the Swedish Navy and NATO's Standing Squadron 1. US anti-submarine aircraft used the F17 air base near Ronneby in southern Sweden for flights.

Sweden and Finland, Russia’s western neighbors, are the latest members to join NATO, ending decades of neutrality and non-alignment in the military sphere. Russia has repeatedly warned that this could lead to greater militarization of the Baltic region.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nato-keo-quan-den-hai-nuoc-thanh-vien-moi-nhat-o-suon-tay-cua-nga-tien-hanh-cac-hanh-dong-quy-mo-lon-294179.html