NATO is prepared to protect itself in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russia.
BADDEREN – Finnish conscript Atte Ohman readied himself aboard a US landing ship to storm a snow-swept Norwegian beach as part of a rapid response unit pushing out an invading enemy.
Last week the alliance got even larger as Sweden became its 32nd member almost a year after its Nordic neighbour Finland joined. While the Kremlin's forces are depleted after heavy losses in Ukraine, Russia has switched its economy to war mode. "You have this uncertainty about for how long they will continue to lose so much versus Ukraine and then how long will it take for them to rebuild their military."One increasingly crucial area of competition with Russia is the harsh Arctic region where the exercise was staged.
"The Artic is a new focus area. We must invest in the capabilities to act here in the normal military fields but also in the intelligence side and other fields," he added.