FINLAND, Nov 24: NATO exercises led by the Finnish Navy, involving approximately 5,000 personnel and 20 allied ships, begin on Monday in the Baltic Sea. The drills, dubbed Freezing Winds 25, will take place on the country’s southern coast, in the Archipelago Sea, and the Gulf of Finland until December 4.
Participating in the maneuvers will be ships and personnel from the navies of Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States, as well as Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1). In total, approximately 5,000 personnel and approximately 20 allied ships will take part in the exercises. Fighter jets, helicopters, and maritime surveillance aircraft will also join the maneuvers.
According to the Finnish Navy, the exercises will focus on protecting maritime traffic and critical infrastructure, defensive actions during amphibious landings, and joint naval and coastal operations. Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov told Sputnik in February that Finland had been increasing the number of national exercises following its accession to NATO in April 2023, with 115 maneuvers planned for 2025 alone. The ambassador recalled that in 2024, Finnish territory had been involved in major NATO maneuvers for the first time.
In March 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with Journalist Dmitry Kiselev for Rossiya 1 and RIA Novosti, stated that Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO was pointless in terms of ensuring their own national interests, and that Russian troops and weapons systems would be deployed near Finland’s borders after joining the alliance.
In recent years, Russia has been decrying unprecedented NATO activity along its western borders. The alliance is expanding its initiatives, calling it “deterrence of Russian aggression.” Russian authorities have repeatedly expressed concern about the bloc’s military-political buildup in Europe. The Kremlin has stated that Russia posed no threat to anyone, but would not ignore actions that are potentially dangerous to its interests.
*(UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
