NATO to host inaugural Baltic Sea exercises to send ‘clear signal’ to Putin’s Russia
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For the first time, NATO will practice responding to potential Russian attacks in the Baltic Sea region, Reuters reported on Sept. 1.
The two-week military exercises called “Northern Coasts,” are set to begin on Sept. 9 and will involve 30 ships and over 3,000 servicemembers. They will practice amphibious operations and sea-to-land strikes.
“We are sending Russia a clear signal of vigilance: ‘Not on our watch.’ Effective deterrence must include the ability to strike,” emphasized Jan Christian Kaack, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy.
One of the primary objectives of these maneuvers is to safeguard the routes through the Baltic Sea, which are of “almost 100%” significance to Finland and the Baltic countries.
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“If the Suwalki Corridor (a narrow land stretch approximately 65 kilometers long connecting the Baltic countries with Poland and NATO’s main European territory) is blocked – which can be easily done since there are only two roadways and one railway line – then we will be left with only maritime routes, and it is through these that we will have to establish our path,” Kaack explained.
The German fleet will lead the exercises, and they will be commanded from their new maritime headquarters in Rostock, where NATO would oversee its operations in the Baltic Sea in case of a direct conflict with Russia.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
