Putin is like sitting on a fire! 40 NATO warships and 7,000 troops close to Russia

Putin is like sitting on a fire! 40 NATO warships and 7,000 troops close to Russia

NATO member states sent over 40 warships and 7,000 troops to Stockholm this weekend in what has been seen as a warning to Russia following Sweden and neighbouring Finland's application to join the military alliance.

Military vessels from 14 NATO states arrived in the Nordic capital on Saturday to participate in a training exercise alongside Finland and Sweden. The exercise, called Baltops, aims to test the ability of these countries’ navies, air forces and troops to work together.

Baltops is set to run all week and involve landing exercises along the Swedish and German coastlines.

The USS Kearsarge, an American warship, was among the vessels arriving in Stockholm over the weekend.

The 253-metre-long ship was joined by 44 other vessels, 76 aircraft and approximately 7,000 military personnel.

Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Norway and the United Kingdom are among the participants.

NATO said in a statement: “Fourteen NATO allies, two NATO partner nations, over 45 ships, more than 75 aircraft, and approximately 7,000 personnel will participate in the 51st iteration of the premier maritime-focused exercise from June 5-17.”

The presence of NATO vessels has also been hailed as sending a message to Russia that the military alliance are closely watching both Sweden and Finland, who will be taking part in the exercise.

The two Nordic states applied to join NATO two weeks ago, however, their applications are expected to take months.

Further delays could also be caused by existing member Turkey, who has objected to Sweden and Finland’s bid to join the alliance.

The two countries are therefore left in a sensitive period between application and full NATO membership, prompting concerns over how they will be protected in the coming months.

Speaking at a news conference aboard the USS Kearsarge on Saturday, General Mark Milley, the most senior US military commander, suggested the military exercise was partly intended to quell those fears.

He said: “We are committed to a rules-based international order … and the idea that strong, powerful countries cannot just arbitrarily attack smaller weaker countries as we have seen in Ukraine.”

Sweden’s Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told reporters in Washington two weeks ago that the Pentagon had pledged several interim security measures including US Navy warships present in the Baltic sea, army forces training together and Air Force bombers flying in Scandinavian airspace.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said the arrival of the American warship, in particular, showed US President Joe Biden was honouring commitments he made to her and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö when the two Nordic leaders visited the Washington last month.

She said: “This shows President Biden’s security assurances are followed by actions.”

Baltops is one of a number of military training exercises set to take place over the coming months reportedly to maintain an enhanced NATO presence in the Baltic Sea region.

The drill will be around 30 percent bigger this year than in 2021, with President Biden having asked military leaders to “modestly increase” activities beyond the “significant programme” already scheduled.

Speaking alongside General Milley on Saturday, Sweden’s Mr Hultqvist said he could see “a future here with a lot of activities that makes our part of Europe more secure … during this sensitive time from now until we are full members of NATO.”




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