The biggest maneuver in decades: NATO is rehearsing war against Russia

Although no one at NATO officially speaks the name Russia, it is precisely this country that is the focus of the largest NATO maneuver in decades. 90,000 soldiers, 50 ships and more than 1,000 combat vehicles are scheduled to rehearse defense against Russian troops from mid-February.

“Steadfast Defender”, translated as “steadfast defender”, is the name of the major maneuver with which NATO is practicing the worst-case scenario: an invasion by Russia into a European country, which leads to the declaration of the so-called alliance case according to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. This regulates the obligation to provide assistance in the alliance and states that an armed attack against one or more allies is viewed as an attack against all.

Signal to Russia

90,000 soldiers will be mobilized for around four months from mid-February. It is the largest military exercise of its kind in decades, says the commander in chief of NATO forces in Europe, Christopher Cavoli. And: “The alliance will demonstrate its ability to strengthen the Euro-Atlantic region by deploying US troops.”

According to the US general, preparations for the maneuvers should begin next week. The actual start is scheduled for February. Training will then be carried out until May, in particular on the alerting and deployment of national and multinational land forces.

The soldiers taking part come from NATO countries and Sweden, which is still waiting to join the alliance, which Hungary and Turkey are currently blocking. The training locations are spread across half the globe, from Virginia (USA) to the Spanish Atlantic coast and up to Norway. Steadfast 2024 consists of many individual exercises such as “Nordic Response” in March or “Saber Strike” (Germany, Poland, Lithuania) in April. An amphibious landing against resistance and the relocation of the rapid reaction force VJTF to NATO’s eastern flank in Poland are also being explicitly tested, which will then be integrated into the national exercise “Dragon 24” there.

“We have to be prepared”

The announcement comes just over four weeks before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. “We are preparing for a conflict with Russia and terrorist groups,” said the chairman of NATO’s military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, after two days of deliberations at the defense alliance’s Brussels headquarters. “If they attack us, we have to be ready.”

One thing is already certain: Moscow will view the NATO maneuver as a new provocation and will probably increase attacks in Ukraine.