BATHING — Atte Ohman, a young Finnish conscript, prepares to disembark on a freezing Norwegian beach, as part of an exercise by the I’LL TAKE in it Arctic.
“There is a saying that says: if you want peace, prepare for war,” explains the 19-year-old. “It’s exactly what we do,” he adds, taking his machine gun.
The maneuver, which takes place in the Arctic, is part of NATO’s Steadfast military exercises, the most important of the US-led Alliance since the end of the Cold War.
For weeks, the exercises mobilize nearly 90,000 men and women and dozens of ships, armored vehicles and combat aircraft.
While Italian paratroopers descend onto the beach from helicopters, Swedish landing barges converge on the scene and French alpine troops, on skis, stand by.
“Ready to defend territory”
The message is clear: NATO is ready to defend itself against a Russia increasingly aggressivetwo years after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
Since then, the Alliance has been strengthened with the entry of Finland and Sweden, which became its 32nd member on Thursday.
“We show that we are ready to defend our territories and it is very important to act together to strengthen our capabilities,” explained Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson from a point on the border between Norway and Finland.
“At the moment, Russian troops are bogged down in Ukraine, but Russia has communicated its great ambitions to reconstitute and adapt its forces,” he said.
The possibility of Russia attacking a NATO member should not be excluded. As Moscow has put its economy into war mode, Western powers are experiencing increasing difficulties in providing Kiev with the weapons and ammunition it demands.
The Arctic Challenge
The head of Norway’s armed forces, Eirik Kristoffersen, says the number of Russian troops stationed near his country’s border is less than a fifth of what it was before the invasion of Ukraine.
“But on the maritime and air front, as well as from the point of view of nuclear forces, they kept all their forces intact in the region,” he says.
The Arctic region is now at the center of competition between Russia and NATO. Since President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, Russian forces have continued to increase their presence in the area.
Both Finland and Sweden are trying to pressure their new allies to increasingly compete with Moscow in that key region.
Strategic zone
The Arctic is becoming a strategic area and that is why “Russia is investing a lot here, and China is also monitoring the area,” explains Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.
According to Rear Admiral David Patchell, deputy commander of the US Second Fleet, climate change will open, by a conservative estimate, access to important resources worth about $1 trillion in the region.
And at the same time, the melting of ice will mean that the Arctic becomes navigable and will connect the oceans of the entire planet. “We must learn to work in the Arctic,” she explained.
“Working in those conditions is a big shock. We rarely see snow like that every day,” said US Marine Corporal Joshua Maddox.
“The biggest challenge is psychological, you just have to be very well prepared,” he said.
His colleague in the Marines, Sergeant Joshua Perezchoa, stated that “if Putin decides to go further” and act worse “than what he is already doing,” he will be there “to play my role, to help the other countries”.
“It’s our mission,” he said.
Source: With information from AFP
