NATO has escalated since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 during its military exercises in eastern Europe, and alliance leaders say the aim is to reassure alliance members who fear Russia’s aggression, and this has angered Russia, which says NATO has become a burden on its backyard. The Kremlin likened this to Russia’s deployment of missiles in Mexico, according to a study published by the European Center for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Studies under the title: “NATO: Close ties between NATO and the defense cooperation of the Nordic countries.”
According to the study, the number of NATO warplanes in Eastern Europe increased during the last five years, reaching 101, and the increase in NATO forces in Eastern Europe continued from the forces of countries outside the region, and since 2014 the number of military personnel increased from (2000) to (15,000). ).
Since the beginning of 2018, more than (100) military exercises have taken place, in which up to (80,000) soldiers have participated, and the number of forces participating in them has increased by (10) times, and the number of warplanes has increased from (11) to (101) aircraft, and indicated that the intensification of the exercises of the Alliance forces is continuing.
Jassim Mohammed, a security expert and head of the center, believes that the alliance will be unable to repel a Russian attack on its eastern flank if it occurs, noting that “NATO spokeswoman Oana Longescu, had told the Russian TASS Agency, that “NATO forces It is now more prepared and able to spread faster than at any time in the past 10 years.”
Oana Longescu added: “NATO is now strengthening its collective defense to the fullest since the end of the Cold War. It is placing four multinational battle groups in its eastern flank, including in Lithuania, under the command of Germany. In addition, NATO has tripled the number of The rapid reaction force is about (25,000) people, including a brigade of (5,000) members of the high-speed reaction force.
Muhammad said in a statement to “Sky News Arabia” that in 2016 NATO formed a rapid response force in Eastern European countries, and decided to maintain a permanent presence in the region, and these decisions were taken, which were presented especially as a response to Russia’s behavior in Ukraine, By the NATO Council at the Newport Summit in Wales, Britain, the decision comes to ease the concerns of member states close to the Russian borders, to deter the Kremlin’s harassment in Ukraine, and to prevent its recurrence elsewhere in the region.
According to Muhammad, the Baltic Sea region is witnessing increasing tension between Moscow and the West, and Moscow has increased its military capabilities in its Kaliningrad enclave in the Baltic Sea region, and criticized NATO for deploying the anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe, and Norway, Denmark and Iceland are members of NATO, while Sweden and Finland remain Finland, which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia, is militarily neutral, and Finland has said it intends to hold large-scale military exercises with Nordic countries, the United States and other allies during 2020.
The security expert believes that the military arrangements and activities carried out by the alliance at the borders of Russia are aimed at “deterring Russian aggression,” as NATO announced that (30) mechanized infantry battalions, (30) squadrons of aircraft and (30) warships will be in the possession of members. The alliance by 2020, this means that an army of about 30,000 military vehicles, 1,000 armored vehicles, an army of about 500 planes and helicopters, and a whole fleet of warships will be present at the borders of Russia.
Military expert Oleg Goltunogka commented in statements to NATO generals that they believe that the Baltic is a potential target for striking Russia, and that after that, it will be able to use the Baltic as a bridge to launch an attack on other countries.
He said that the Baltic states are not a good position to take over Russia, and concluded by saying that even a group consisting of (200,000) or (500,000) thousand will not help Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, so the Baltic states will become the graveyard of NATO.