NATO holds largest military exercise since Cold War began

About 90,000 soldiers from the US and NATO allies will participate in the exercise, called Steadfast Defender 2024, which will last until May.

NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Reuters

More than 50 ships from aircraft carriers to destroyers will participate with more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones and at least 1,100 combat vehicles including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles.

The exercise will rehearse NATO’s implementation of its regional plans, the first defense plans the alliance has drawn up in decades. It comes at a crucial time as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has marked the largest war on European soil in more than 70 years.

“NATO today begins its largest military exercise since 1988 with 90,000 servicemen taking part in exercises across the North Atlantic and Europe,” Matthias Eichenlaub, a NATO spokesman, said on Twitter.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told state news agency RIA in remarks on Sunday that the scale of the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise marked NATO's return to the Cold War.

Mai Van (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nato-bat-dau-cuoc-tap-tran-lon-nhat-ke-tu-chien-tranh-lanh-post282398.html