Thousands of NATO troops are taking part in massive artillery exercises in Finland’s Arctic this month, which some see as a signal to neighboring Russia for war against Ukraine. The sounds of cannons and rockets echo across the snowy mountains of Lapland as about 3,600 troops from the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and other NATO members conduct live-fire exercises throughout November.
All countries are part of missile practice in Europe
All these countries are part of NATO’s missile practice taking place in Europe. It is called Dynamic Front 25, which also includes exercises in Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland, involving a total of about 5,000 troops. Joel Linnenmäki, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said the massive exercise should be interpreted as a message to Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) long border.
Want to show Russia how strong NATO is
He said, “This missile practice of NATO wants to show other countries, and in this case especially Russia, how strong our alliance is and how capable it is to help its members.” The exercise is the first large-scale maneuvers held in Finland since the Nordic country joined NATO last year after abandoning decades of military non-alignment following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Director of Dynamic Front 25 Exercise said this
Colonel Janne Makitalo, director of the Dynamic Front 25 exercise in Finland, said the main goal is to develop training and interoperability between the alliance’s artillery units and to prepare troops for Arctic conditions, now that Norway, Sweden and Finland are all NATO members. Are members of. “It sends a message that we can train together and also develop our assets,” he told reporters.
“Artillery is really the king and queen of the battlefield as we have experienced from the attacks in Ukraine,” Makitalo said. He rejected the notion that NATO could provoke Moscow by projecting its military power into Russia. He said, “This is not a show of any kind of force.” He said Finland’s joining NATO “brings 280,000 troops to NATO’s northern wing”.
