Britain is deploying 20,000 troops along with an aircraft carrier, helicopters, eight ships and fighter jets across northern Europe in one of the biggest military deployments in its history.
This development comes as the undersea natural gas pipeline Valticconnector, a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia, was destroyed and a few hours ago it became known that a telecommunications cable connecting Sweden to Estonia was also damaged.
Britain plans to boost its military presence in northern Europe to help protect vital infrastructure at a time of growing concern over Russian sabotage operations, Reuters reports.
Britain will send 20,000 soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen along with eight Royal Navy ships and a squadron of fighters and helicopters to help protect critical infrastructure.
It is clear that this great military development of Britain is not intended for "infrastructure protection" but for war with Russia.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with other leaders on the sidelines of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
Britain has said it will take part in large-scale exercises in several countries and conduct air policing and polar weather warfare training.
JEF, a defense cooperation group between the Scandinavian, Baltic countries, the Netherlands and Britain, was meeting days after a pipeline and data cable in the Gulf of Finland were destroyed by "external activity", sparking security concerns in wider Nordic region.
“This week, we have seen once again that our security cannot be taken for granted. It is vital that we stand united against those with malicious intent," Sunak said in a statement, adding:
R. Sunak described how accelerating defense industrial cooperation within Europe and across the Atlantic is vital to ensure that nations maintain a technological edge over Russia and protect partners from Russian attacks for generations to come.
That will be done, he said, by sending more than 20,000 troops to the region next year, along with 8 Royal Navy ships, 25 aircraft and an air strike force of Apache, Chinook and Wildcat helicopters.
No comments:
Post a Comment