Despite NATO officials’ claims about Defender Europe 2020 not being aimed against any particular country, the exercises are clearly just another anti-Russian provocation.
The main objective of the exercise — NATO’s largest in over 25 years — is to practice deploying US troops to Poland and the Baltic states.
As part of the drill, up to 20,000 US troops will be deployed to Europe by air and sea, as well as 13,000 vehicles and equipment. 37,000 soldiers from 18 countries will take part in Defender-Europe 2020 altogether.
These exercises will last about five months, and will take place mostly in Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states, with the bulk of the activities scheduled for April and May 2020.
NATO denies the notion that Russia is the portrayed enemy in Defender Europe 2020. According to General Andrew Rohling, Deputy Commander of the US Armed Forces in Europe, “the military maneuver is not related to any particular country. It aims to respond quickly to any fabricated crisis.”
Needless to say, NATO has only one potential enemy in the European strategic region that is somewhat equal to the alliance in terms of military capabilities. No matter what NATO’s political and military leaders say, it’s Russia.
Obviously, Moscow will not get any coherent answer regarding the specifics of the upcoming exercises, but it would be interesting to hear what SHAPE might have to say.
While transferring troops to different parts of Europe might sound pretty harmless, from a military perspective, it actually means setting up a battle force for an offensive, or creating a defensive line.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2020.
