Four US A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes are taking part in war games in Poland, as the nation expects about 10,000 NATO forces at drills this year. Moscow says the military build-up at Russia’s borders will have a negative long-term impact.
The A-10 aircraft are based in western Poland, at an airbase in
Powidz, where they will be involved in a series of training
missions until Friday, Polish army spokesman Artur Golawski said,
as cited by Reuters.
The planes – designed to attack tanks, armored vehicles and other
ground targets – arrived at the 33rd Powidz Transport Air Base on
Tuesday, according to The Aviationist. They followed two C-130
Hercules military transport aircraft.
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US military convoy parades through Eastern Europe (VIDEOS)
On Wednesday, Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak (who is
also deputy prime minister) said that he approved of the constant
presence of NATO troops in his country. “We are striving for
it and we are talking about it. We are preparing ground for the
constant presence,” TASS quoted him as saying. Around 10,000
allied forces are expected to take part in this year’s drills.
The military exercises are supposed to come as a part of
Operation Atlantic Resolve, which aims at “reassuring NATO
allies and partners of America’s dedication to enduring peace and
stability in the region” following the recent developments
in Ukraine.
Last Saturday, Lithuania’s capital Vilnius saw the start of
operation Dragoon Ride – a convoy of US military vehicles,
mostly IAV Stryker APCs, heading to a base in the German town of
Vilseck in Bavaria via Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and the
Czech Republic. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges, the commanding general of US
Army Europe, described the route as NATO’s Eastern European
allies “that live closest to the Bear.”
In the Czech Republic, where anti-war activists launched the
‘Tanks? No thanks!’ campaign in order to protest against what
they called a “provocative victory parade” near the
Russian border, people were instructed not to throw tomatoes or eggs at a
US military convoy, as they could face charges of up to three
years behind bars.
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Dragoon Ride demonstrated its weapons and military equipment,
including Stryker armored fighting vehicles and Humvee military
automobiles, in Lithuania, making stops in six cities. It
continued its procession in Poland, where it was accompanied by
military gendarmerie and military helicopters.
This week, the air forces of Finland and the US have started
joint military exercises, later to be joined by Sweden, TASS
reported. The drills are mainly taking place in the skies above
the sea, not far from the western coast of Finland, and will also
occur in international airspace.
At the beginning of March, six NATO warships participated in
naval drills in the Black Sea. The operation, headed by the US,
included anti-air and anti-submarine exercises. The 3.5 month
series of joint exercises commenced in Bulgaria. About 350 US army officers,
as well as US tanks, helicopters and armored personnel carriers,
came for the drills.
READ MORE: 6 NATO warships take part in Black Sea
naval drills
The US also delivered over 120 armored units, including tanks, to
Latvia this month. The country’s defense minister, Raymond
Vejonis, welcomed the move, saying on Twitter that “the
presence of our allies (US and NATO) in Latvia is a confirmation
of solidarity and security in the region.”
Last month, the US deployed twelve A-10s in Germany, and in
January NATO stationed additional troops in the three Baltic
states – Romania, Bulgaria and Poland – as part of its new
strategy.
Poland is one of the closest US allies in Europe, in addition to
being one of the leading heralds of the so-called “Russian
threat” in eastern Ukraine. The crisis there broke out last
spring after Kiev sent its military to the Donbass region to
suppress dissent against an armed coup in the capital. The
internal conflict has already claimed over 6,000 lives, according
to UN estimates.
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Russia sees the recent actions as additional proof that NATO is
an anti-Russian military bloc that has taken advantage of the
Ukrainian conflict, using it as a pretext for a military build-up
in Eastern Europe.
“NATO is developing its rapid response forces and is boosting
its infrastructure near our borders, we are registering attempts
to violate nuclear parity and the creation of the European and
Asia-Pacific segments of the missile defense systems is being
sped up,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an
address to the FSB collegium on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich
reminded that Russia has all the means to counteract nuclear
threats. He said at a regular media briefing that “it’s high
time the US renounced destructive unilateral moves in the sphere
of missile defense, then there would be no need to worry about
their consequences,” TASS reported.
“Consistent US military build-up at the Russian borders in
line with NATO’s plans to strengthen military presence and
develop infrastructure at the so-called eastern flank…not only
provokes tensions in the region, which has been considered one of
the most buoyant in Europe, but also has long-term negative
consequences,” Lukashevich added.
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Baltic Sea (PHOTO, VIDEO)
On Wednesday, Russia’s envoy to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, pointed
out in an interview to Germany’s Das Erste TV that Russia hasn’t
substantively increased the number of its military drills, while
the military activity of NATO has escalated, “shaping a new
military reality.”
“Today’s problem is not Russia’s military activity, but the
increased military activity of NATO. Every other day new military
exercises take place within the framework of The Readiness Action
Plan of the alliance. The number of NATO drills has exceeded 200.
The total number of tactical flights of the NATO air forces over
the Baltic and Barents Seas, as well as bordering Russia regions
last year exceeded 3,000, which is the double number of 2013
drills,” Grushko said, adding that the figures estimating
Russian military activities in 2013-2014, along with current
activity, have mostly remained at the same level.
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The Pentagon acknowledged that over 1,000 American troops based
in Europe have recently been moving across Eastern Europe to
participate in the military exercises. The operation is set to
“demonstrate the freedom of movement that exists within
NATO,” according to military spokesman Steven Warren.
Another point of Russia’s concern is the possibility of US
weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The conflict-torn country is
already facing large-scale international drills instructed by the
US this April, which are set to last until November. President
Poroshenko said they mean “integration to the biggest defense
structure in the world,” Interfax reported.
“Weapons supply activities from the US to Ukraine are fraught
with a failure of a shaky truce in Donbass and outright threaten
Russia’s security,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
said, pointing out that it undermines the Minsk agreements and
calls into question the plans of the US, as well as NATO.
READ MORE: ‘Russia supporting political settlement in Ukraine,
Kiev needs to step up to the plate’