NATO Exercises and the Encircling of Russia
Written by Hassan Younes
Between January and May 2024, NATO executed Steadfast Defender, a series of exercises unprecedented since the Cold War. They included the participation of 90,000 soldiers. “The exercise demonstrates NATO’s capability to quickly deploy and reinforce in times of crisis, focusing on training for deterrence and defence across the Euro-Atlantic region”i in the event of a conflict with Russia. In March, Poland announced the deployment of troops on the border with Russia in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship as part of NATO drills Steadfast Defender.
The exercises proved worrisome to Russia, provoking several official statements, most notably by Russian Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova who said: “Right now, NATO’s largest exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, is taking place near Russia’s borders. According to their scenario, coalition’s actions against Russia are being practiced using all the instruments, including hybrid and conventional weapons.”ii “We have to admit that NATO is seriously preparing for a ‘potential conflict’ with us,” she added. Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushkev, stated on March 7: “By continuing to provide large-scale military and military-technical assistance, the West is actually participating in the armed conflict.”iii
NATO exercises and ensuing Russian fears, warnings, and threats directly converge with the geopolitical reading of Dr. Yousef published by ICGER on September 22, 2023, titled: “Russia Withdraws from the South Caucasus” where he stated that: “Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has aimed to encircle and geopolitically besiege Russia. Finland and Sweden joined NATO to exert pressure on Russia from the north and tighten the grip on the Baltic Sea. If Sweden and Denmark take control of the straits and gateway of the Baltic Sea, this strategy would impede Russia’s access to the external world through this route.” The NATO alliance is also active in the Black Sea, a vital maritime region that Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union have long dominated. It holds strategic importance for Russian vital interests and serves as a crucial route for connections to the Mediterranean, Africa, and Southern and Eastern Europe. NATO’s presence in the Black Sea today competes with Russia’s, aiming to narrow its influence, especially compared to the historical dominance it enjoyed over the region via the Azov Sea,” he added.
i https://shape.nato.int/nato-exercises
iii https://tass.com/politics/1756941
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