The Dictorial Russian State has announced it is staging major war games in the Baltic sea amid heightened tensions over the Ukraine war and Sweden and Finland’s bids to join Nato.
The move comes as the western alliance focuses efforts on defending Poland, as well as ex-Soviet states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, by staging a series of military exercises known as the Ramstein Legacy drill.
The operation will see 3,000 troops from 17 Nato nations take part in practice drills at the Russian border in anticipation of a ‘worst case scenario’.
Vladimir Putin has shot back at the announcement by sending to sea 60 surface warships and support vessels, 40 aircraft and helicopters, and up to 2,000 units of weapons, military and special equipment, according to a statement by the Baltic Fleet.
Russia has announced it is staging major war games in the Baltic sea amid heightened tensions over the Ukraine war and Sweden and Finland’s bids to join Nato.
The move comes as the western alliance focuses efforts on defending Poland, as well as ex-Soviet states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, by staging a series of military exercises known as the Ramstein Legacy drill.
The operation will see 3,000 troops from 17 Nato nations take part in practice drills at the Russian border in anticipation of a ‘worst case scenario’.
Vladimir Putin has shot back at the announcement by sending to sea 60 surface warships and support vessels, 40 aircraft and helicopters, and up to 2,000 units of weapons, military and special equipment, according to a statement by the Baltic Fleet.
Located in Northern Europe, the Baltic sea is proving to be an important tactical front in the war.
echnically an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, it is enclosed by Nato member states Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
It is also enclosed by Finland, Sweden, and Russia. Finland and Sweden recently submitted applications to join Nato amid heightened concern after Russia invaded Ukraine, which is not a member of Nato, in February.
The move by Finland and Sweden has angered Russia, which warned of severe ‘consequences’ for the two Scandinavian nations should the application be approved.
Russia quit the Council of the Baltic Sea States last month, accusing the organisation of having become ‘an instrument of anti-Russian policy’ and ‘increasingly bogged down in Russophobia and lies’.
The statement was issued at the same time as German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Germany planned to increase its military ties with Sweden and Finland.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson has also signalled his interest in supporting Sweden and Finland, signing a security pact with both countries last month and announcing the UK would ‘provide support’ if the two nations were attacked.
Speaking in Iceland, defence secretary Ben Wallace said that many countries should be ‘deeply wary’ of President Putin’s intentions, adding that the Russian leader did not consider Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to be countries in their own right.
Mr Wallace said: ‘He feels no compulsion about breaking people’s borders.
‘Whether he would be silly or foolish enough to do that in an overt manner with a cruise missile remains to be seen but he would then be dealing with Nato.’
