In a turbulent geopolitical environment, the number of Spanish soldiers deployed abroad has reached its historical record this year, surpassing 3,800 troops in the 17 international missions in which the Armed Forces participate under the umbrella of NATO, the European Union or the UN.
The war in Ukraine marked a before and after for the Atlantic Alliance and, by extension, for Spain, which assumed first-hand the east flank reinforcement of NATO multiplying its presence in deterrence missions in front of the Russian border.
Specifically, the Armed Forces There are more than 2,000 soldiers deployed in the missions of Latvia, Slovakia and Romaniato which Spain also contributes numerous material resources with combat tanks, armored vehicles, air defense systems and combat aircraft in charge of the airspace protection of the Baltic and the Black Sea.
Added to this are the standing NATO naval groups The Navy participates in them, with 422 sailors involved as of November 1. Specifically, Spain currently contributes the Cristóbal Colón frigate and the Tajo minehunter to these surveillance and deterrence missions in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Also with NATO, the Armed Forces maintain a deployed Patriot anti-missile battery in Türkiyein the vicinity of the city of Adana, near the border with Syria. A total of 137 troops are deployed there.
Alert on Lebanon
Aside from these, the most important mission of Spain currently is that of Lebanonwhere 664 soldiers are deployed and have been immersed in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah since the beginning of the violence that caused the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023.
The Spanish Armed Forces are tasked with guarding the border between Israel and Lebanon, the so-called blue line, in its eastern sector. And also the Spanish general Aroldo Lázaro He is in charge of the 10,000 blue helmets that are part of this UN operation.
In recent weeks there have been attacks against members of the United Nations that have caused nine injuries, none of them Spaniards, in addition to various material damages. Many of them have been caused by the Israeli armed forces, to which both the UN and the Spanish Government have asked to comply with international resolutions.
In a congressional appearance, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robleshas warned of the delicate nature of the situation. “We cannot allow Lebanon to be a new Afghanistan,” he stated, recalling the “failure” of international society when the Taliban took control of the country.
In Iraq, Spain has 339 soldiers deployedalthough part of them have already begun to withdraw, following the commitment adopted by the United States with local authorities to put an end to the international coalition to fight terrorism that operates in the country.
With this objective, the Armed Forces have begun the tasks of withdrawing the helicopter unit that for years has assumed logistics and transportation functions, which will be completed in the month of December. Later, he must establish a schedule for the withdrawal of the rest of the troops involved in this operation, which Robles has not detailed. In any case, Spain will remain present in Iraq within another NATO mission, in which it has 155 troops.
Another sector with a military presence is the Indian Ocean, where Spain leads the European Union operation Atalanta fight against piracy. The frigate Santa María is currently deployed there, with a helicopter and a Scan Eagle drone, a special operations team and a Role 2 medical team.
Sahel abandonment
In Africa, Spain, like the entire European Union, has kept its military presence in the Sahel to a minimum, despite it being an area marked as a priority by the Government. By decision of the EU, not shared by Spain, the Mali mission It ended in May of this year after more than eleven years of mission.
This led to the decision of the Ministry of Defense to make temporary the air detachment deployed in Senegalwith a punctual presence there of air resources and a deployment of personnel limited to 18 troops.
It also has seven Army soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic, two in Mozambique and others. 20 in Mogadishuthe capital of Somalia. Precisely, Robles has revealed that the base where the Spanish military is deployed in Somalia was the target of a terrorist attack that, however, did not cause any personal injury.
Added to the military missions abroad is the operation of training of Ukrainian soldiers in Spain, led from Toledo. Since its inception, the minister has revealed that the figure of 5,965 educated Ukrainians has been exceeded and it is planned to extend the training courses throughout 2025.
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