NATO to hold largest military exercise since Cold War - FT

Next year, NATO is preparing to hold the largest joint command and staff exercises since the Cold War, in which more than 40,000 servicemen will take part.

This is reported by the Financial Times, European Pravda writes.

So, the purpose of the exercises will be to practice the Alliance's repulsion of russian aggression against one of its members.

The Steadfast Defender exercises are said to be part of NATO's rapid transition from crisis response to warfighting prompted by the invasion of Ukraine.

At the same time, it is expected that the maneuvers will begin in the spring of next year and will involve from 500 to 700 aircraft, more than 50 ships and about 41,000 military personnel. They will take place in Germany, Poland and the Baltic states.

In the legend of the exercises, the coalition led by russia is called Occasus.

In addition, Sweden, whose application to join the Alliance was not ratified by Turkey and Hungary, will also take part in the exercises.

The maneuvers are said to be part of a new training strategy that sees NATO conduct two major exercises a year instead of one. The Alliance will also train to counter terrorist threats beyond its immediate borders.

The exercises are also seen as a key part of demonstrating to moscow that the Alliance is ready to fight, NATO officials said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, meanwhile, large-scale exercises of the North Atlantic Alliance Northern Coasts began in the Baltic Sea, which is a timely demonstration of strength to the aggressor state of russia.