Finland to hold joint exercises with NATO members states near border with Russia
Finland will host a series of military exercises with NATO troops from late April to early June, the press service of the Finnish Armed Forces reported on April 16.
Some of them will take place near the Russian border.
According to the Finnish Defense Ministry, the ground forces will be training in large military units and "developing the capacity for bilateral and multilateral joint operations with the Allies."
Read also: NATO to establish new HQ in southern Finland — 140 km from Russia
International exercises, including Arrow 24, Adex 1/24, Sapeli 1/24, Repo 24, Lightning Strike 24, will be held in various regions of Finland. The military from the United Kingdom, Latvia, Estonia and Germany will also take part in these exercises. The exercises will include military operations using mechanized forces, as well as joint operations with air support and helicopter operations.
The series of exercises will culminate in Northern Forest 24, which will involve about 4,500 Finnish, 2,000 American and 400 Norwegian soldiers. U.S. military personnel will participate in the Immediate Response 24 exercises, which are part of the USAREUR-AF Defender exercise series and NATO's Steadfast Defender drills.
The largest NATO exercise in decades, Steadfast Defender, started on Jan. 24. They will last until the end of spring 2024.
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According to Bild, the scenario of the exercise is a Russian attack on the territory of the Alliance, which leads to the invocation of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. It regulates the obligation to provide assistance in the bloc and states that an armed attack on one or more allies is considered an attack on all.
The same tabloid, citing its own sources in the intelligence of a European country, reported that Russia may try to attack Europe in late 2024 or early 2025, when the United States will be "leaderless" and will be able to come to the aid of European states only after some delay.
Read also: New NATO members Finland and Sweden launch joint Nordic Response 24 excercises with Norway
NATO is convinced that Russia will definitely attack the Alliance. Diplomats argue there is "no luxury to think" Russia's aggression will stop at Ukraine's border, the Financial Times wrote.
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