NATO's "Iron Sword" in Lithuania

07.02.2017
Lithuania

An official presentation of NATO's international battalion will take place today at the Rukla base in Lithuania.

The event will be attended by President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, head of the Joint Command of NATO forces in Brunssum (Netherlands) General Salvatore Farina, and other representatives.

NATO's Baltic Mission

The Iron Sword exercises involving military forces from 11 NATO countries started in November 2016 and will last until December 2017.

NATO has been forcing its military presence on Europe for several years since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, when Russia was accused of interfering in the conflict. Moscow has repeatedly denied NATO’s claims and warned that the military buildup near Russia’s borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power.

Last summer at the NATO summit in Warsaw, the composition of the multinational battalions was finally approved. The alliance will continue to strengthen its “Eastern Flank” in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland to counter "growing fear of Russia in the region".

Response Measures

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu has warned NATO that its military buildup near Russia’s borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power. He additionally pointed out that the alliance is fighting against the wrong enemy: "Instead of uniting efforts against the common global evil — terrorism — NATO has declared Russia the main threat and continues to increase its military potential near our borders.”

In response, Russia has created three new divisions totaling 30 thousand troops on its Western borders.

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