tensions with Russia
NATO announces major maneuvers in the Mediterranean
01/22/2022, 03:09 p.m
For twelve days, NATO wants to demonstrate its clout in the Mediterranean. The maneuver, which is scheduled to start on Monday, has no connection with the Ukraine conflict, according to the United States. It’s been planned for years. What is striking is that the military exercise was still not on the relevant list in December.
Amid tensions with Russia over the Ukraine crisis, NATO is holding a major military exercise in the Mediterranean. The US Department of Defense said the exercise, which begins on Monday, is not related to the Ukraine crisis. Under the impression of the recent tensions, the US and its allies discussed the situation and then decided on the maneuver, said ministry spokesman John Kirby.
The exercise, dubbed “Neptune Strike 22,” will be led by US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. It is scheduled for twelve days and is intended to demonstrate NATO’s clout at sea. “The exercise is not designed for the kind of scenarios that could play out over Ukraine,” the Pentagon spokesman said. It has been planned for two years. However, “Neptune Strike 22” was not on a list of military exercises planned for 2022 published by NATO in December.
The aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its escort ships have been in the Mediterranean since mid-December. The warship was supposed to be relocated, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin decided to leave it in the Mediterranean to “reassure” Europeans about the conflict with Russia.
Russia has gathered around 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine and recently announced maneuvers in Belarus, in the Mediterranean, in the North Sea, in the Atlantic and in the Pacific. A total of more than 140 ships and 10,000 soldiers are expected to take part in the exercises planned for January and February.
The government in Moscow rejects the accusation that it is preparing an invasion of Ukraine and, for its part, is demanding security guarantees from NATO. The West has repeatedly warned that an invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops would have serious political and economic consequences. The United States and other countries are increasing their military aid to Ukraine.