NATO and the United States-led naval drills are set to begin this week in the Baltic Sea with reduced forces compared to last year, broadcaster TVP World reported Wednesday.
Exercise Details
German Rear Admiral Stephan Haisch stated, "In this period, it is a sign of the alliance's strength, that a major exercise is being conducted, under US leadership, with broad NATO participation." The BALTOPS exercise, scheduled from June 4 to June 20, will involve around 20 vessels from 15 countries and about 6,000 personnel, roughly half the size of last year's drills.
Reasons for Reduced Scale
According to officials, the reduced scale reflects ongoing operational commitments elsewhere, including deployments in the Middle East and the Arctic. Even so, the exercise is expected to be the largest naval maneuver in the Baltic Sea this year.
Operations will begin in the western Baltic before shifting east toward the area surrounding the Swedish island of Gotland. Haisch said safeguarding sea lines of communication remains a central mission, both for military logistics and commercial shipping.
Russia Tensions
Haisch also said he does not expect Russia to take actions that would trigger NATO's collective defense clause, known as Article 5, despite ongoing tensions. Russia on May 21 launched nuclear-capable missiles and issued nuclear munitions to some units as part of nuclear exercises amid heightened tensions with NATO over the Ukraine war and drone activity in the Baltic. Moscow is conducting some of the biggest nuclear exercises in years, involving 64,000 people to drill its forces in "the preparation and use of nuclear forces in the event of aggression."
