NATO conducted unannounced large-scale exercises near Kaliningrad amid rising tensions with the Russian Federation
Kyiv • UNN
The alliance deployed up to 50 aircraft on the eastern flank, including F-35s, AWACS and electronic warfare aircraft. Poland is strengthening its monitoring of Russia's activity.
NATO conducted a series of unannounced military exercises this week near Kaliningrad and on the Alliance’s eastern flank, involving reconnaissance aircraft, tankers, F-35 fighter jets and other advanced air assets. This was reported by the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT, writes UNN.
Details
Dozens of NATO aircraft carried out missions over Poland, the Baltic states and other areas of the eastern flank. They included AWACS radar reconnaissance aircraft, tanker aircraft, reconnaissance planes and an American electronic warfare aircraft capable of disrupting the enemy’s communications.
According to NATO, the exercises had been planned in advance and were not a response to a new threat from Russia. At the same time, what was unusual was that the Alliance did not announce them beforehand. Unofficial estimates suggest that up to 50 aircraft may have participated in the exercises.
Poland strengthens monitoring of Russia’s actions
Former Polish military general Roman Polko said that the current exercises differed in scale and intensity.
These NATO exercises show that the organization takes the Alliance’s northeastern flank seriously. They are much more intensive than previous ones and are conducted at various levels, covering all domains
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said that Warsaw was closely monitoring Russia’s military activity in Kaliningrad, Belarus and on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Russia is arming itself against NATO. Perhaps not because it has decided to start a war, but because it wants to show how strong it is. It wants to show that it has not yet said its final word in the war in Ukraine. We are monitoring very closely – using military and civilian intelligence, as well as satellite imagery – what Russia is doing in Kaliningrad, Belarus and Russia itself
Poland is simultaneously strengthening its land border with the Kaliningrad region together with German and American troops. As part of the "Eastern Shield" project, tank obstacles, fences and surveillance systems are being installed.