Major NATO exercises begin in Baltic Sea: rehearsing potential Russian attack

NATO Allies have launched a major maritime exercise, North Coast, near the coasts of Latvia and Estonia, involving about 30 vessels and up to 3,000 troops to practice repelling a potential Russian attack and counterattacks.

Source: European Pravda, referring to ERR

Details: During the two-week manoeuvres in the Baltic Sea, about 30 ships and up to 3,000 troops will practice repelling a potential Russian attack and counterattacks. The military will also train to conduct airborne operations and land strikes from the sea.

German Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack noted that reliable deterrence against the Russians requires both defensive and offensive capabilities. 

The exercise involves states from the Baltic Sea, including Sweden, as well as the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

The United States is participating with the 200-metre-long amphibious assault ship Mesa Verde, which can carry about 800 marines. 

The exercise will also include training in defending sea routes through the Baltic Sea, as these are critical logistics routes for Estonia and Finland. 

"If the Suwalki Gap (a conditional "isthmus" in Lithuania and Poland that separates Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia and Belarus) were blocked – and this is quite easy because there are only two roads and one railway – we would only have the sea route and would have to rely on it," Kaack explained. 

Kaack noted that this is the first exercise of this scale to be led by the largest naval formation in the Baltic Sea from the new headquarters in Rostock.

Germany wants to prove that this centre can serve as a regional naval headquarters and lead Alliance operations in the Baltic in the event of a conflict.

Background: The US and Romania announced exercises in the Black Sea and Danube Delta with Ukraine's participation.

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