NATO exercise simulates Russian invasion across frontline member states

Exercise Griffin Lightning has deployed 26,000 multinational troops crossed frontline NATO states, including Poland and nan Baltic states, testing NATO capabilities and readiness for a imaginable penetration by Russia wrong nan coming months aliases years. 

In Estonia alone, almost 18,000 nationalist troops led Operation Hedgehog, on pinch 12 different nations, arsenic portion of nan wide Gryphon Lightning structure. 

"When you perceive nan sound of nan NATO jets astir here, it whitethorn beryllium loud, but to america we opportunity it's nan sound of freedom," Lieutenant Colonel Koosa of nan Estonian Defence Forces told Euronews. 

"When I went to school, we heard nan sound of Soviet aircrafts, location was pictures of Lenin, we were paying pinch Rubles, pinch thing to bargain from stores," he recalled. 

"Now we're successful NATO we tin make judge thing for illustration that ever returns," he said.

The workout is taking spot amid a overmuch much uncertain geopolitical context, pinch Germany's defence main saying NATO needs to hole for imaginable warfare pinch Russia wrong nan adjacent fewer years. 

General Carsten Breuer has said  NATO is facing "a very superior threat" from Russia, arsenic nan Kremlin builds up its banal of tanks and "new subject structures". 

Soldiers trial themselves and nan confederation for integration and interoperability, including fast, businesslike decision-making successful nan arena of an attack. 

Operating successful forests, woodlands and commandeering erstwhile Soviet rocket bases arsenic bid posts, soldiers simulate nan galore circumstances apt to materialise successful nan arena of warfare pinch Russia. 

Armies are divided into 2 sides, pinch each undertaking nan domiciled of nan attacker aliases defender. 

“We’ve sewage a fewer trenches retired location wherever we’ll unrecorded and conflict retired of truthful if an force attacks aliases comes towards us, that’s wherever our main protect area will be,” Kingsman Lewis Jackson, a young UK soldier, told Euronews. 

His compatriot, Second Lieutenant David Brereton, said that being successful Estonia, adjacent to Russia, is important, but that nan logistics for him and nan different battlegroups were captious for readiness for a real-world scenario. 

“We’re successful an MDA – main protect area – fundamentally we’re tasked pinch defending nan crushed you tin spot down us, fundamentally stopping immoderate activity northbound of that crushed and repelling immoderate attacks,” he says of his setup. 

'Keeping a pulse' connected Russia's war

In Lithuania, nan largest overseas deployment of Germany's aviation brigade since nan Cold War is participating successful Griffin Lightning. 

And while drones are emerging arsenic nan astir ascendant limb exertion of Russia's warfare successful Ukraine, tanks and moreover paratroopers person recovered a renewed relevance successful modern warfare. 

German Leopard 2 tanks were delivered to Ukraine successful March 2023 aft unit from NATO countries. The tanks are deemed superior for their firepower and dense armour. 

In this exercise, Leopard 2 and Puma tanks are featured alongside Lithuania's infantry fighting vehicles, showcasing interoperability connected nan battlefield during a simulated counter-offensive. 

Despite governmental concerns astir semipermanent US committedness to NATO and European Security overall, US paratroopers participated nether a US-led exercise, Swift Response, alongside Griffin Lightning.

Captain Zachary Donner said US forces are integrating Ukrainian experiences connected nan battlefield. 

"We've been keeping a beat connected nan conflict and we've been utilizing it to fundamentally merge our training, our comms and we've been taking lessons learnt from complete successful nan Ukraine to fundamentally create what's going connected location to spot what we tin combat against," he said.

He said US NATO troops successful Europe, of which location are presently nether 100,000, tin beryllium fresh successful a "moment's notice". 

"The capacity to quickly move into nan locations is ever here. The 173rd is postured successful Italy and fresh to spell connected a moment's notice. The 82nd successful arrear is besides ever connected defender and connected watch and fresh to deploy wrong 24 hours," he told Euronews. 

Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said nan exercises are much basal than ever, fixed nan nonaccomplishment by US-led delegations to make immoderate advancement connected bid talks betwixt Russia and Ukraine. 

She besides claimed that Russia is moving quickly pinch its equipped forces reform.

"They person really transformed their system to a wartime economy. They are moving very accelerated pinch their equipped forces betterment - to person 1.5 cardinal soldiers by nan extremity of nan year," Šakalienė told Euronews successful Lithuania.