The largest NATO military exercises since the end of the Cold War are scheduled to take place in Germany, Poland and the Baltic countries in early 2024. The purpose of the training is therefore to practice defense against possible “Russian aggression” against a member state. It appears that NATO is not thinking about a peaceful solution.
In a few months, in early 2024, the largest NATO military exercises since the end of the Cold War are scheduled to take place in Germany, Poland and the Baltic countries. More than 40,000 troops and 50 warships from the transatlantic military alliance are said to be training to defend against “Russian aggression” against the NATO member. NATO officials said they wanted to show Moscow that the alliance is ready for war.
According to this, 500 to 700 combat operations are to be conducted in the entire Baltic Sea region in February and March next year. As a result of NATO’s expansion over the past few decades, it has increasingly become a “NATO lake” under the extended control of the military alliance. But for Russia, the Baltic Sea, along with the Black Sea, is of utmost strategic importance as a location for year-round ice-free ports.
However, NATO’s plan also shows that it does not expect further tensions to escalate in Ukraine over the next six months. After all, planning and preparations already consume huge amounts of resources, time and money. On the other hand, the Russian fleet is already increasingly deploying to the Black Sea to hit targets in Ukraine, so NATO exercises there would be extremely dangerous. This also makes it clear that NATO clearly does not believe in peace and de-escalation, but depends on creating tension. Till now such exercises have always been conducted officially without naming the enemy, which has certainly changed now.
