Atte Ohman, a young Finnish soldier prepares to disembark on a snow-swept beach in the Norwegian Arctic, as part of a NATO military exercise intended to train his troops for the rigors of the far North.
“There is a saying which says: if you want peace, prepare for war”, explains the young 19-year-old corporal to AFP, clutching his machine gun. “That’s exactly what we do.”
This operation in the Arctic is part of NATO’s Steadfast military exercise, the largest launched by the Alliance since the end of the Cold War. It mobilized for weeks some 90,000 men and women and dozens of ships, armored vehicles and combat planes.
Swedish army landing craft line the beach while Italian paratroopers rappel from helicopters and French marines stand by on skis.
Italian Marines take position during an amphibious assault demonstration, as part of the Nordic Response military exercise, on March 10, 2024, at sea near Sorstraumen, Norway / Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
The message is clear: NATO is ready to defend itself, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has since become the “main threat” to the security of the Euro-Atlantic alliance.
The Alliance was further strengthened with the entry of Sweden, which officially became its 32nd member on Thursday.
“We are thus showing that we are ready to defend our territories and it is very important to act together to strengthen our capabilities,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told AFP after observing Swedish tanks engaged in a fictional fight in this border area between Finland and Norway.
“At the moment, Russian troops are bogged down in Ukraine, but Russia has clearly displayed its ambitions to reconstitute and adapt its forces,” he assures.
The prospect of a Russian attack against a NATO country is not excluded, at a time when Russia is converting to a war economy. And this while the West is having the greatest difficulty supplying the weapons and ammunition that Ukraine sorely needs in the face of Russian forces.
The Arctic issue
Norwegian Armed Forces Chief Eirik Kristoffersen says the number of Russian troops stationed near his country’s border is less than a fifth of what it was before the invasion of Ukraine.
“But from the maritime, air and nuclear point of view, they have kept all their forces intact in the region,” he underlines.
Especially since the Arctic region is now a very important issue in the competition between Russia and NATO. Russia has continued to increase its forces there since the arrival of President Vladimir Putin in 2000.
The two new entrants, Finland and Sweden, are now trying to convince their new allies to further resist these Russian ambitions in the far North.
The Arctic regions are increasingly strategic and this is why Russia is investing so much there and why China is interested in them, explains Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.
According to Rear Admiral David Patchell, second in command of the US Second Fleet, citing a conservative assumption, climate change will open up access to resources worth some $1 trillion in the region.
And melting ice means the Arctic will become navigable and connect the world’s oceans in the future.
“We have to learn to work in the Arctic,” he explains to AFP.
“It’s a big shock to work in these conditions. We rarely see snow like this every day,” comments US Marine Corporal Joshua Maddox, normally stationed in North Carolina, with a much more temperate climate. .
But “the biggest challenge remains the psychological challenge, you just have to be very well prepared,” he adds.
“If Putin decides to go further and do worse than what he is doing, I will be here to play my role, to help other countries,” says US Marine Sergeant Joshua Perezchoa. . “This is our mission.”
2024-03-11 20:47:44
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