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The British navy will participate in one of many bloc’s largest drills because the finish of the Chilly Conflict
The UK is about to deploy round 20,000 service members – in addition to fashionable warships and fighter jets – to Europe to participate in a serious NATO train amid rising tensions with Russia, the Defence Ministry has introduced.
In a press release on Monday, the ministry, citing excerpts from a speech to be delivered by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, stated that some 16,000 military troops – together with tanks, artillery, and helicopters – will be part of different bloc members on the continent to take part in Train Steadfast Defender 24, scheduled to happen within the first half of this yr.
The hassle will probably be supported by eight warships and submarines, in addition to 2,000 Royal Navy sailors. The UK can even deploy a lot of plane, together with F35B Lightning fighters and Poseidon P8 surveillance plane, the ministry stated.
In the meantime, Shapps is anticipated to name the drill “one in every of NATO’s largest deployments because the finish of the Chilly Conflict,” including that the UK and its allies have discovered themselves “in a brand new period” and “have to be ready to discourage our enemies,” in response to the assertion. The assertion particularly referred to the risk from the Russian “menace.”
NATO started reinforcing its navy footprint in Europe first after a Western-backed coup in Kiev triggered hostilities in Donbass, which is now a part of Russia. Nevertheless, probably the most drastic build-up occurred after Russia launched its navy marketing campaign in opposition to Ukraine in February 2022. In June of the identical yr, the US-led navy bloc agreed to place 300,000 troops on excessive alert, up from 40,000, to discourage Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has beforehand stated that Moscow has no plans to assault NATO, arguing that there was “no geopolitical, financial … or navy curiosity” in waging warfare in opposition to the bloc. Nonetheless, Moscow has additionally repeatedly warned that the alliance’s navy actions near its border warrant extra safety measures. Putin has additionally stated that Ukraine’s want to affix NATO was one of many key causes for the present battle.
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