NATO launches Arctic exercises, vowing to protect newest member Finland

NATO countries have started Arctic military exercises with a pledge to defend their newest member, Finland, which is hosting its first joint training since becoming part of the Western Alliance in April this year. According to reports, nearly 1,000 allied forces from Norway, the UK, the US and NATO applicant Sweden joined approximately 6,500 Finnish troops this week. The addition of Finland doubles the length of the border NATO shares with Russia, which launched a large-scale invasion of another neighbour, Ukraine, in February last year. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine convinced Sweden and Finland last year to ditch long-held policies of military non-alignment and seek the security of NATO’s collective defence commitment. Overseeing the exercise just a two-hour drive from the Russian border at one of Europe’s largest artillery training grounds in Rovajarvi, northern Finland, Major General Gregory Anderson from the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army said his country stood ready to defend Finland. “We are here, we are committed. The U.S. Army is here training with our newest NATO ally to build that capability, to help defend Finland if anything happened,” Anderson said. His troops practised on the ground with their Multiple Launch Rocket Systems shipped from Germany, while their Finnish counterparts fired their Leopard 2A6 tanks, the Swedes and the Norwegians fired from CV90 infantry fighting vehicles and the UK troops deployed Warrior tanks. Sweden remains Finland’s closest military partner and is also both politically and tactically ready to defend its Nordic neighbour, the commander of the Swedish land forces said. It’s of no question at all. We have prepared plans on what to do if we are to be part of the defence of Finland," Major General Karl Engelbrektson said. Ilmari Laukkanen, a 20-year-old Finnish conscript who operated a field gun in the exercise but in his civilian life works at a family farm near the Russian border, said he would be ready to fight for Finland’s new allies if needs be. “Of course I would. If we are given something good then we give in return,” Laukkanen told Reuters. Thea Rimmereid, 21, from Norway’s northern Porsanger Battalion, when asked if she felt ready to defend Finland said she had only been in the military for 13 months. “But we will do the best if we need to,” Rimmereid said. Exercise leader Colonel Janne Makitalo said NATO allies should be cautious about drawing quick conclusions on their military procurement needs from the footage they see from Ukraine. “Russia is currently able to destroy, on a monthly basis, about 10,000 Ukrainian UAVs (uncrewed aerial vehicles),” Makitalo said. Expensive technological solutions might look good on YouTube, he said, but they can be easily detectable in a real war situation. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.