Military exercise involving over 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries has started in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland
Finland, which shares a 1,340km border with Russia, joined Nato in April 2023 in a historic move following decades of military non-alignment and Sweden is expected to join in the days to come.
The exercise will continue till March 14 and has been termed as Nordic Response in recognition of Finland becoming a member and Sweden expected to join soon.
The exercise across land, air and sea will include soldiers from the UK, US, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. The latest exercise will involve more than 50 submarines, frigates, corvettes, aircraft carriers and amphibious vessels at sea among others.
Among those present to witness the exercise would be Finnish president Alexander Stubb, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Swedish crown princess Victoria.
The Hungarian parliament last week gave the nod to Sweden’s bid to join the Nato, but it is yet to be signed by the Hungarian president before it is sent to Washington.
Norway, one of the first members of the group, said that the Nordic Response was aimed at strengthening and bolstering the alliance’s ability to defend the region. All other countries including Russia have been informed of the exercise.
The Norwegian military in a statement said, “With Finland and soon Sweden as allied neighbours, the exercise contributes to closer Nordic integration within the framework of Nato. The exercise also strengthens operational total defence cooperation in the Nordic countries, which results in better cooperation in peace, crisis and conflict. Closer operational cooperation in the Nordic region strengthens Nato’s ability to defend the Nordic region.”
The last exercises of a similar size were Reforger – during the Cold War in 1988 with 125,000 participants – and Trident Juncture in 2018 with 50,000 participants, according to Nato.
