Category Archives: NATO

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III underscored NATO's enduring commitment to Ukraine after meeting with his alliance counterparts in Brussels today.

The leaders discussed Ukraine during a meeting of NATO defense ministers, marking the final round of high-level talks before next month's NATO summit in Washington.

"Like nations of goodwill around the world, our NATO allies continue to stand up for Ukraine's sovereignty and self-defense," Austin said. "And as we prepare for the Washington summit, the NATO-Ukraine partnership continues to deepen."

Today's meeting included discussions on the alliance's defense and deterrence initiatives, including progress toward meeting capability requirements for NATO's new generation of regional defense plans.

The defense ministers also discussed defense industrial production to ensure delivery of key capabilities to Ukraine and NATO's plan for training Ukraine's defenders.

Following the discussions, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the group has agreed to a plan on how NATO will lead future coordination of security assistance and training for Ukraine's armed forces.

The effort will involve nearly 700 NATO personnel and partner countries, who will oversee training for Ukrainian armed forces at facilities in allied countries. The alliance will also plan and coordinate security assistance for Ukraine, manage the transfer and repair of equipment and support the long-term development of Ukraine's armed forces.

"These efforts do not make NATO party to the conflict," Stoltenberg said. "But they will enhance our support to Ukraine to uphold its right to self-defense."

NATO leaders will formally launch the effort during next month's summit.

Ahead of today's meeting, Austin hosted the 23rd iteration of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a U.S.-led coalition of some 50 countries committed to helping Ukraine defend itself from Russian aggression.

As he met with members of the coalition on Thursday, Austin underscored the group's collective commitment to helping Ukraine meet its urgent defense needs and bolster its long-term security amid what he said is a critical moment in Russia's ongoing war of aggression.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a critical moment," Austin said as he kicked off Thursday's discussions. "The stakes of this war are high. Ukraine's survival is on the line. But so is all of our security.

"None of us would want to live in a world where [Russian President Vladimir] Putin prevails," he said. "And we would all be less secure if tyrants think that they can trample borders and cow their neighbors."

Today, Stoltenberg also previewed a new defense industry pledge that will be formalized at next month's summit.

The pledge, which is aimed at sending a sustainable demand signal to industry, will allow the alliance to "scale up production and to develop a defense industrial base that's fit for purpose," Stoltenberg said.

Austin said investment in the defense industrial base "is crucial to the future of our alliance."

The defense ministers also discussed the ongoing adaption of NATO's nuclear capabilities and made further progress translating regional defense plans into concrete requirements and identifying the forces needed to defend the alliance.

"For 75 years, NATO has been the greatest defensive alliance in human history," Austin said today. "NATO has prevented conflict, maintained freedom and the rule of law, and upheld the principles of democracy and human rights.

"We still have more work to do together," he said. "And as we look toward the summit in Washington and beyond, I am confident that we will continue to make the United States and our world more secure."

Here is the original post:
Austin Meets With NATO Counterparts Ahead of Washington Summit - Department of Defense

In order to get through the first round, parties that share a political hue such as the countrys four main left-wing parties tend to club together and agree to not run candidates against each other.

Sounds easy, right? But heres the rub: Turnout really matters. In 2022, when turnout was close to 50 percent, parties had to get approximately a quarter of the votes cast to reach that magic figure of 12.5 percent of registered voters. Voter turnout is expected to be higher in this heavily scrutinized election, which will make it easier for candidates to advance to the second vote. That means well probably see more three-way contests than usual in the July 7 round.

A big caveat about opinion polls ahead of the first round: Its a two-round vote, so the percentage of overall votes doesnt translate directly into seats. For now, the National Rally and some if its allies from the fracturing center-right have about 37 percent support, while the left wing New Popular Front grouping is at 28 percent and Macrons liberals have about 18 percent.

The question on everybodys mind is whether the anti-immigration National Rally will be ruling the country as of next month.

Marine Le Pens party needs at least 289 seats to command a majority in the French parliament, and at the moment the far right looks likely to make big gains on the back of a successful campaign in the European election. Again, opinion polls must be taken with a pinch of salt, but the National Rally could get between 195 and 245 seats, according to current projections. That would be a record increase from the 89 MPs they currently have.

If the far right gets a majority in the parliament, the French president would have to enter into a cohabitation arrangement with the National Rally and appoint a far-right prime minister. Bardella, the president of the National Rally, has said he would not seek to lead a government unless he had a majority. That presumably means he will need coalition partners or its an electoral strategy to bag a big turnout.

Originally posted here:
French election: Your guide to a vote that is set to shake the EU and NATO - POLITICO Europe

President Biden met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday afternoon as the two leaders prepared for next months potentially rocky NATO summit in D.C., which will bring dozens of heads of state and government and potentially thousands of protesters to the nations capital.

Biden has made buttressing international alliances such as NATO a centerpiece of his foreign policy, increasingly seeking to contrast his worldview with that of former president Donald Trump, his presumptive opponent in 2024. But as they look ahead to the summit from July 9-11, White House officials are expecting pressure from foreign leaders intent on giving Ukraine a green light to hit back at Russia more aggressively.

The NATO alliance has grown in the wake of Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as Finland joined the alliance in 2023 and Sweden became its 32nd member in March. In a pair of European trips this month, Biden argued that, contrary to the arguments of his political adversaries, the United States would be foolish to isolate itself from major European conflicts.

The best way to avoid these kinds of battles in the future is to stay strong with our allies, Biden said during a trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France while commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I think theres a new rise and a sense of some within the country of wanting to let that slip, the idea that we become semi-isolationist now, which some are talking about. Its not who we are.

His words were a not-so-subtle reference to Trumps foreign policy. Trump has said he would not protect NATO allies who spend too little on their own defense, remarks Biden has called dangerous and un-American.

At the upcoming summit, participants will celebrate NATOs 75-year history and its decades-long successes in serving as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and now Russia.

But the gathering also will pose a big test for Biden, as many allies are unhappy with his reluctance to let Ukraine attack targets in Russia, while others are frustrated with his staunch backing of Israels invasion of Gaza. The summit could also attract large-scale pro-Palestinian protests. Such demonstrations have erupted at almost every international gathering and Biden appearance in recent months, and a large summit of military powers in the U.S. capital is unlikely to be an exception.

Stoltenberg on Monday touted increased European defense spending and said the continent was a strong partner in Washingtons efforts to keep the world safe. He said that 23 of NATOs 32 members are now meeting the alliances defense spending targets of 2 percent of their nations gross domestic product, up from seven just five years ago.

The number has more than doubled since I took office, Biden said during remarks with Stoltenberg from the Oval Office. And we look forward to building on all of this progress next month.

Stoltenberg, who has been secretary general since 2014, has made it clear that he agrees with Bidens emphasis on the importance of the transatlantic alliance. Twice when Europe has been at war, the USA chose isolationism and twice it realized this didnt work, he said at an event at the Wilson Center, a foreign affairs research group in D.C., before his meeting with Biden.

How that sentiment plays out in daily decisions as the war in Ukraine enters its third summer fighting season will be a chief topic among the leaders headed to D.C. Many NATO leaders have been frustrated at Bidens reluctance to give Ukraine more latitude to strike military targets inside Russia.

Last month, Biden signed off on letting Ukrainian commanders use U.S.-provided weaponry against limited military targets inside Russia, authorizing them to hit back against Russian forces that are attacking Ukrainian soldiers, or preparing to attack them, in and around the city of Kharkiv, near the border in northeast Ukraine.

But a set of European elections in the days leading up to the NATO summit could weaken some countries arguments against Biden. French President Emmanuel Macron, a leading advocate of further empowering Ukraine, could be significantly weakened by parliamentary elections. That means he would arrive in Washington not as a leader who will push NATO forward, but as a warning symbol to others about the far rights potential to swing foreign policy more toward Russias interests.

The United Kingdom is also set to hold elections less than a week before the summit starts, and its ruling Conservative Party is expected to fare poorly. A new government is unlikely to have a dramatically different Ukraine policy, but an incoming prime minister might not be prepared to immediately pressure Biden, said Ivo Daalder, U.S. ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama.

The countries most likely to push hard to do more on Ukraine are going to be significantly weakened because of European elections, Daalder said. That changes a lot of the situation.

Biden has also taken a number of actions to reaffirm U.S. support of Ukraine. Vice President Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Switzerland last week for a Ukraine peace summit, where Harris announced more than $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraines energy sector and humanitarian efforts.

The United States also widened its sanctions against Russia last week to include Chinese defense companies that help Russia pursue its war against Ukraine. And when Biden was at the Group of Seven summit in Italy last week, he held a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the two leaders signed a 10-year security agreement.

Still, the White House has been clear that it wants to minimize conversations at the summit about Ukraines prospective membership in NATO, offering general assurances but no concrete timeline.

In the coming weeks, NATO leaders are expected to take other actions to bolster the alliance against potential policy changes by Trump, should he win the 2024 election. They are planning to move the coordination of arms assistance to Ukraine, shifting it to NATO from its current role with the U.S. military, for example.

NATO allies also have sought to show that the alliance benefits the United States, in hopes of rebuffing arguments from a wing of the Republican Party that contends that NATO, and European defense in general, is a sap on U.S. resources rather than a boost.

NATO is good for U.S. security, good for U.S. industry and good for U.S. jobs, Stoltenberg said Monday. Over the last two years, more than two-thirds of European defense acquisitions were made with U.S. firms. That is more than $140 billion worth of contracts for U.S. defense companies.

Whatever debates unfold inside the high-level meeting are likely to be matched by vociferous protests outside. International gatherings such as the NATO summit are often a magnet for demonstrators who want to express their dissatisfaction with the presidents policies, and that has become even more true in recent months.

Since Hamass attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Biden has stressed that his commitment to the country is ironclad, even as the number of civilians casualties have mounted. Critics, including American liberals and many Western leaders, have accused him of supporting a scorched-earth invasion that has left more than 37,000 Palestinians dead. Biden has faced protests over his support of Israel for months everywhere from his childhood home in Scranton, Pa., to the streets of Paris.

D.C. leaders have not said how many demonstrators they are expecting. Last year, ahead of the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, protests against NATO were held in several European countries. The year before, thousands of demonstrators flocked to Madrid.

Police and city leaders in Washington said they are working with federal authorities to launch a robust law enforcement response to the event, noting that they are used to hosting large summits, conferences and other events with significant security needs.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser will activate the citys Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate law enforcements response to the event, officials said at a news conference last week.

Federal and local law enforcement also plan to set up a security perimeter and checkpoints around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center through the duration of the summit, probably snarling vehicular and pedestrian traffic and causing public transportation disruptions around the convention center, Carnegie Library and Mount Vernon Square.

Residents will be able to get into their homes and businesses, city leaders said, but may have to undergo security screening. Police said they plan to contact potentially affected businesses in the weeks leading up to the summit.

Jenny Gathright and Peter Hermann contributed to this report.

Continued here:
Biden meets NATO chief ahead of potentially rocky D.C. summit - The Washington Post

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) said it would invest in four European tech companies.

Investment in Europes defence technology is intensifying after NATO on Tuesday confirmed its first deep tech investments as part of a 1 billion fund that aims to address todays defence, security and resilience challenges.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation announced the fund in 2022, following Russias invasion of Ukraine. The NATO Innovation Fund matches government buyers of technologies with start-ups to develop defence technologies.

The first companies to receive the investment are European and include Germanys ARX Robotics, which designs unmanned robots and three start-ups in the United Kingdom.

London-based computer chipmaker company Fractile also received funds as well as Bristol-based iComat and the Welsh start-up Space Forge, which makes novel space materials.

The fund has also invested in four venture capital funds that focus on deep tech: Join Capital, Vsquared Ventures, OTB Ventures and Alpine Space Ventures. Unlike most VCs, which invest over 10 years, NATOs fund will invest over 15 years.

NATO said it is also making investments to boost deep tech hubs in regions where capital for early-stage startups is in high demand to promote the Alliances technological sovereignty.

With these investments, the Fund is now starting to make a tangible difference in our innovation ecosystems, providing growth opportunities to the most promising dual-use and defence companies developing solutions to maintain the Alliances technological edge, David van Weel, Assistant Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber, said in a statement.

Van Weel told Euronews Next in 2022 that NATOs main challenge is bridging the communication gap with innovators as the military is not always aware of the latest defence technologies and a lot of innovators do not know what the military requires.

The other issue is that defence organisations and governments, in general, are not famous for having fast procurement processes, he said.

Our challenge is really to make sure that we have a workable, agile way of communicating with innovators and bringing in new technologies at a speed of relevance, he added.

The fund aims to help advance innovation in new materials and manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.

NATO said it is also making investments to develop deep tech hubs in regions where

capital for early-stage startups is in high demand to promote the Alliances technological sovereignty.

The NATO Innovation Fund is backed by 24 of NATO's 32 member states. The United States, Canada and France are members that have not agreed to support it.

See the article here:
NATO begins its 1 billion investment in AI, space and robotics - Euronews

STORY: :: Ottawa, Canada

:: June 19, 2024

:: NATO's chief says Russia and North Korea's new

pact shows authoritarian powers are aligning

:: Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General

:: "We need to be aware of that authoritarian powers are aligning more and more and they are supporting each other in a way that we haven't seen before."

"We see that also, of course, in the war in Ukraine. North Korea has provided an enormous amount of ammunition."

TRIM

"So, of course, in return, Russia is giving something to North Korea. We are very deeply concerned about the possibility of also Russia now providing support for their nuclear and missile programs."

"So, again, the answer is that when they are more and more aligned - authoritarian regimes like North Korea, China, Iran, Russia- then it's even more important that we are aligned as countries believing in freedom and democracy. So NATO is in that way even more important now than before."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said North Korea had provided "an enormous amount of ammunition" to Russia while both China and Iran were supporting Moscow militarily in its war against Ukraine.

Read more:
NATO chief: authoritarian powers aligning 'more and more' - Yahoo! Voices

"We agreed that no Hungarian personnel will take part in the activities of NATO in Ukraine and no Hungarian funds will be used to support them," Orbn said today on X, adding: "In light of his pledge, Hungary is ready to support PM Ruttes bid for NATO Secretary-General."

Slovakia, another holdout against backing Rutte, also indicated it may back him. Like Hungary, Slovakia's new government leans toward Moscow and has said it will not send weapons to help Ukraine.

"After consultations with both candidates and after consultations with Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Slovak government, the Slovak Republic can imagine supporting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the head of the alliance," Slovak President Peter Pellegrini told a televised news briefing today.

Pellegrini added that he had talked to Rutte about NATO helping protect Slovakia's airspace until it beefs up its own capabilities.

Those moves leave Romania whose President Klaus Iohannis is running against Rutte as the sole NATO ally not yet backing the Dutch PM. The new alliance chief has to get the support of all 32 members.

Read the original here:
Hungary and Slovakia back Dutch PM Rutte as NATO's next chief - POLITICO Europe

In his recent interview with TIME magazine, US President Joe Biden indicated that his skepticism about Ukrainian NATO membership is deep-rooted and goes far beyond any practical opposition to granting Kyiv an invitation to join the alliance while the current war with Russia is still ongoing. It would seem that President Biden does not regard Ukrainian NATO membership as a prerequisite for lasting peace in the region.

Unsurprisingly, the view in wartime Kyiv is strikingly different. Record numbers of Ukrainians now support NATO membership, which is widely seen as the best way to preserve the countrys sovereignty and prevent any future invasions. Crucially, many Ukrainians are also convinced that their countrys NATO accession would be in the national interests of the United States as well as Ukraine itself.

There are a number of reasons to believe Ukrainian NATO accession would also be beneficial for the US. These range from military practicalities to potential strategic advantages and geopolitical gains.

First, the United States has an obvious and immediate interest in ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as this would allow the US to focus on other pressing domestic and foreign policy priorities. But it is equally clear that the war unleashed by Vladimir Putin in February 2022 will never truly end as long as the issue of Ukraines NATO membership remains undecided.

Second, the apparent reluctance of the United States to make a clear commitment regarding future Ukrainian NATO membership sends a dangerous signal to Putin. It encourages him to believe his policy of invading and occupying neighboring countries to prevent them from joining NATO is successful and should be continued.

Third, Ukrainian NATO membership is the best way to protect the considerable US investment in Ukrainian security. The United States has invested tens of billions of dollars in security assistance since Russias full-scale invasion began more than two years ago. This investment can only be regarded as successful if Ukraine is secure from further Russian attack. At this stage, the only credible way to guarantee Ukrainian security is by providing the country with a road map to NATO membership.

Some critics of military aid to Ukraine have complained about so-called blank checks in support of the Ukrainian war effort. While this characterization of aid is misleading, it is worth underlining that NATO accession would likely be a far more economical way of safeguarding Ukraines future security than the regular financial support packages the countrys partners currently provide.

Fourth, as a NATO member, Ukraine would be a considerable asset. The Ukrainian military is large, combat-hardened, highly skilled, and boasts unrivaled experience in the realities of modern warfare. In other words, Ukraines army is ideally suited to become the core of NATOs eastern flank. This would significantly enhance European security while reducing the current military burden on the United States, potentially freeing up US forces for deployment elsewhere.

Lastly, Russias imperial ambitions did not begin with Vladimir Putin and do not end in Ukraine. Nevertheless, inviting Ukraine to join NATO would represent a powerful blow to the imperial identity cherished by many ordinary Russians and members of the Kremlin elite. Indeed, granting Ukraine membership of the alliance is perhaps the only way to fully convince Russian society that neither the Soviet Union nor the Russian Empire will ever be restored in any form. This would represent a huge gain for the US and for the future of international security.

Alyona Getmanchuk is the founder and director of New Europe Center and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasias Center.

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

Image: Ukrainian servicemen walk down the road with a US Stinger air defence missile launcher on the front line in Zaporizhzhia region. The U.S. Department of Defense has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine. This Presidential Drawdown Authority package has an estimated value of $225 million. The latest defense package will provide Ukraine with additional capabilities to meet its most urgent battlefield needs, such as air defense interceptors; artillery systems and munitions; armored vehicles; and anti-tank weapons. (Andriy Andriyenko / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect)

Read the original:
The view from Kyiv: Why Ukrainian NATO membership is in US interests - Atlantic Council

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Ukraine has to win the war with Russia before becoming a NATO member, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a briefing on June 17.

His statement came a few days after Kyiv and Washington signed a 10-year bilateral security deal at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy, recognized as a "bridge to Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO."

"(U.S.) President (Joe Biden) believes firmly that NATO is in Ukraine's future at some point," Kirby said.

In his recent remarks, Biden said that peace in Ukraine means a guarantee that Russia will never occupy the country again, "and it doesn't mean NATO (membership)."

"It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in the future," Biden added.

There are a lot of things to complete before Ukraine can join the alliance, Kirby said.

"First, they got to win this war. We are doing everything we can to make sure they can do that," he said.

"When the war is over, no matter what it looks like, they still have a long border with Russia and a legitimate security threat to the Ukrainian people."

That is why Biden signed an agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to ensure that Kyiv will have what it needs to defend the country for the long haul, Kirby said.

"While they work on the necessary things they have to do like any members of the alliance has to work. For instance, on corruption," he added.

Unlike NATO, the U.S.-Ukraine security deal does not require an American military response if Ukraine is attacked but outlines a long-term defense and other assistance to Kyiv.

Ukraine has voiced hope that NATO's July summit in Washington will bring a more definite signal about Ukraine's future membership in the alliance. American officials made it clear that the country is unlikely to receive an invitation.

Stoltenberg: NATO fails to agree on long-term financial support for Ukraine

NATO allies have not yet agreed on a long-term financial pledge for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Jun 14 after a two-day meeting of the alliances defense ministers in Brussels.

Read more:
Ukraine must win the war first before joining NATO, White House says - Kyiv Independent

French presidents have significant influence on the country's foreign affairs and defense policy. However, a government led by the far right would have control over the budget. That would allow it to derail military aid to Ukraine. Macron's 3 billion security deal with Ukraine is not properly budgeted, making it easy for the far-right party to sit on the pledges.

"If we really want a peaceful negotiated solution, the best way of achieving that is to provide military support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.

I cannot tell you what the next crisis or the next war will be, but what I can tell you is that as long as we stand together North America and Europe we will be able to manage to tackle whatever next crisis will be, he added.

He also downplayed Hungarys decision to opt out of a new NATO mission to coordinate military aid and training for Ukraine. There have been differences between allies on different issues, but we have always also been able to find solutions and to move on, he said.

On his NATO proposal to pledge 40 billion per year on supporting Ukraine, which still lacks the full support of member countries, Stoltenberg said it would be necessary to keep the support at the same level as in the last two years.

I strongly believe that we must prevent what we saw this winter, where there were big delays and gaps in the provision of support, and that had real consequences on the battlefield, he said. War is too serious to be dependent on ad hoc, short-term, voluntary contributions. We need long-term commitment to Ukraine.

Laura Kayali contributed reporting.

See original here:
Stoltenberg appeals to France to 'keep NATO strong' as far right surges - POLITICO Europe

NATO's Spring Storm exercise aims to show Estonia is stable, which might serve as a message of deterrence to neighboring Russia.

WTOP/JJ Green

WTOP/JJ Green

Large tanks and armored vehicles rolled across dirt roads. Heavily armed soldiers cloaked in camouflage, crept slowly through open fields and around the perimeter of houses and other community buildings. Thousands of troops from 15 NATO countries have infiltrated the sleepy, rural outpost and set up camp.

Residents moved about their daily activities as if nothing was happening. Thats because it was only a simulation. Its part of a multinational military training exercise called Spring Storm.

But given the brutal war Ukraine is going through, and aggressive rhetoric from next-door neighbor Russia, its not out of the realm of possibility that something like that could happen in Estonia.

Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas attended the exercises and told reporters the event was a signal to Moscow.

We are sending the message, dont think about us, because we are prepared to push back the attack if they consider, that it will not be easy. So, I think the signal that we want to send is, Dont come here,' said Kallas.

That message was echoed by Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur: We are ready. There is no reason to believe that Estonia is not ready. Estonia is ready with our allies.

Spring Storm is a NATO training exercise based in Estonia, with allied forces conducting training and integrating combined armed forces, tactical and sustainable scenarios involving over 14,000 troops from Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Its a part of a larger exercise called Steadfast Defender, which includes 90,000 personnel from across the alliance the largest NATO exercise since the end of the Cold War.

The Steadfast Defender exercise is split into two overlapping parts. Each phase of the exercise includes a range of associated exercises hosted by different countries.

Part one focuses on trans-Atlantic reinforcement the strategic deployment of North American forces across the Atlantic to continental Europe. This phase includes maritime live exercises and amphibious assault training in the North Atlantic and Arctic seas.

Part two focuses on multi-domain exercises across Europe demonstrating NATO, national and multinational military capabilities. This phase will test the rapid deployment of troops and equipment across borders within the Alliance.

The stated goal of Estonias Spring Storm exercise was to practice conducting defensive operations in cooperation with Allied forces under conventional warfare conditions, involving other branches and commands of the Estonian Defense Forces.

The exercise, in addition to the unmistakable messaging to Russias military, is a key for Estonias readiness.

This is our annual exercise, and we are testing our own forces and people who are coming out from the conscript service, said Pevkur.

But there was a broader concern as the exercise unfolded.

According to the International Centre for Defense and Security, which is based in Tallinn, Estonias capital, there has been a notable uptick in the expansion of military arsenals globally, spearheaded by Russia and China. And there is a risk of a broader arms race, encompassing both nuclear and conventional capabilities.

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that the application of emerging technologies has become indispensable in modern warfare. To prevail in a future war, nations are developing weapon systems controlled by artificial intelligence and are investing heavily in new technologies, such as quantum computing.

As a result, NATO is looking at multiple challenges in the near future and Spring Storm, is designed to demonstrate that the country is stable, which might also translate into a message of deterrence.

WTOP National Security Correspondent JJ Green reported from Parnu, Estonia.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

More:
Dont come here: NATO sends message to Russia with Spring Storm training exercise - WTOP