Adrenaline is running high in Europe as multiple crucial exercises are underway on both sides of the geopolitical divide.
On 19 September,Exercise Aurora 17 began in Sweden.It is the largest Swedish national exercise in more than twenty years,US European Command said.Augmenting the more than 19,000 Swedish personnel,the US has sent about 1300 Soldiers,Marines and Sailors,and France has contributed air defence forces.
US European Command commander and Supreme Allied Commander Europe,General Curtis M. Scaparrotti,US Army,stated that:
The interoperability and cooperation of Sweden and the US remains vital.*
Aurora 17 is running from 19-27 September.The drills will occur in Malardalen,Stockholm,Gotland and Gothenberg,Sweden.US Forces participating include:
from the US Army:US Army10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command;12th Combat Aviation Brigade;2nd Cavalry Regiment;194th Armored Regiment,Minnesota Army National Guard;134th Infantry Regiment,Nebraska Army National Guard;149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade,Kentucky Army National Guard;
from the US Marine Corps:Marine Rotational Force Europe 17.2;
from the US Navy:Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79);and a P-8A Poseidon from Patrol Squadron 16.*
The forces will train in both defensive and offensive operations;simulated airborne operations;simulated amphibious assault;as well as area security and unit level tactics.*
Meanwhile,sources in theatre,particularly the Finns,have been sharing their observations of Russian/Belorussian Exercise Zapad 17,giving the ambience of Zapad and the response to it:
1.On 16 September,so called "little green men" in unmarked camouflage fatigues appeared on the border with Lithuania,the Swedish publication Cornucopia reported.One photo showed five LGM in a field with balaclavas and kalashnikov rifles;and a second photo shows two LGM,one of whom has removed his balaclava.They are reportedly hybrid warriors,Don Cossack paramilitaries,some of whom were also noted to be active in annexed Crimea and the beseiged Donbas region in Ukraine.*
2.According to another source,a US Air Force U-2S Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft departed RAF Fairford,England,at 0655 hours on a Baltic mission on 17 September.
3.On 14 September,the Russian 6th Tank Brigade that had seen heavy fighting in Ukraine in 2014 joined Zapad 17 drills.
4.On 17 September,strategic places in Severodvinsk were masked by aerosol fogging in the framework of Zapad 17.
5.On 18 September,land units of the Russian Baltic Fleet carried out firing in the framework of Zapad 17;while a shipborne strike group of the Russian Northern Fleet supported artillery forces of the Russian Marines.
6.On 17 September,a Swedish SIGINT plane was sent on a mission outside the Russian outpost of Kaliningrad.
Showing posts with label Zapad 17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zapad 17. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Lithuania Reacts to Massive Russian Exercise - has it already begun?
Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskite has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal as reacting to the Russian military exercise Zapad 17,officially slated to begin on 14 September:
We see a very,very large scale offensive exercise that demonstrates hatred against the West.It is clear that this will be used to upgrade the military in the region,to upgrade the modernisation of the Army.
In reality,the Zapad exercises are already ongoing.It's not just military exercises,but information operations,propaganda and other follow-ups.*
This view was seconded by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius:
Unconventional warfare is already happening as we speak.*
President Grybauskite believes that Russia is trying to undermine the Baltic governments with disinformation campaigns.Indeed,Moscow has specialised troops dedicated to information warfare.*
Western analysts note the large number of flatbed rail cars that have been requisitioned by Russian forces.It's more than is needed for a mere 12,700 troops,the official number of Zapad 17 participants.Up to 100,000 personnel could be involved in Zapad and interlinked exercises,which in fact began in August,according to NATO sources.Russia has already admitted that drills took place from 11-12 September 2017.On Monday,its Baltic Fleet practiced with S-300 and S-400 air defence systems and Su-24 bombers;while on Tuesday,Russia held snap readiness drills along its Western border.It additionally held exercises with Mongolia in August and in annexed Crimea in March 2017.
As an exclamation mark,Russia also successfully test-launched its Yar ICBM to a target in the Far East on 12 September. *
A Russian Soldier revealed that his division alone was sending 10,000 troops to Zapad 17.Every four years,the major exercise is held in the Western Strategic Direction,which extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea.This event shows where Russia perceives the front line is;where they want to be strategically postured against NATO.*
Zapad 17 is also occurring as intensive attacks by Russian-backed militants against the Donbas Region in Eastern Ukraine have multiplied in recent weeks in total disregard of the Minsk agreement.
We see a very,very large scale offensive exercise that demonstrates hatred against the West.It is clear that this will be used to upgrade the military in the region,to upgrade the modernisation of the Army.
In reality,the Zapad exercises are already ongoing.It's not just military exercises,but information operations,propaganda and other follow-ups.*
This view was seconded by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius:
Unconventional warfare is already happening as we speak.*
President Grybauskite believes that Russia is trying to undermine the Baltic governments with disinformation campaigns.Indeed,Moscow has specialised troops dedicated to information warfare.*
Western analysts note the large number of flatbed rail cars that have been requisitioned by Russian forces.It's more than is needed for a mere 12,700 troops,the official number of Zapad 17 participants.Up to 100,000 personnel could be involved in Zapad and interlinked exercises,which in fact began in August,according to NATO sources.Russia has already admitted that drills took place from 11-12 September 2017.On Monday,its Baltic Fleet practiced with S-300 and S-400 air defence systems and Su-24 bombers;while on Tuesday,Russia held snap readiness drills along its Western border.It additionally held exercises with Mongolia in August and in annexed Crimea in March 2017.
As an exclamation mark,Russia also successfully test-launched its Yar ICBM to a target in the Far East on 12 September. *
A Russian Soldier revealed that his division alone was sending 10,000 troops to Zapad 17.Every four years,the major exercise is held in the Western Strategic Direction,which extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea.This event shows where Russia perceives the front line is;where they want to be strategically postured against NATO.*
Zapad 17 is also occurring as intensive attacks by Russian-backed militants against the Donbas Region in Eastern Ukraine have multiplied in recent weeks in total disregard of the Minsk agreement.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Ukraine to Host Exercise Rapid Trident 17 - Moldova pulls out
US Army Europe has announced that Rapid Trident 17 will be hosted by Ukraine from 8-23 September at the International Peacekeeping Security Centre near Yavoriv,Ukraine,which is close to the city of Lviv and the Polish border in Western Ukraine.About 1800 personnel from 13 nations will participate:Bulgaria,Canada,Estonia,Georgia,Italy,Lithuania,Norway,Poland,Romania,Turkey,Ukraine,the UK and the US.The purpose of the drills is to support combined interoperability among Ukraine,the US,allied and partner nations.NATO partner Moldova withdrew from this year's exercise at the last minute by order of Moldovan President Igor Dodon,who is known to be pro-Russian in his sympathies.*
President Dodon,whose role is mainly symbolic,favours a strategic partnership with Russia;while the Moldovan Government is pro-Europe.Mr.Dodon is also opposed to NATO opening a liaison office in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.The Moldovan Minister of Defence was planning to send 57 troops to RT 17.*
RT 17 will focus on peacekeeping and stability operations to ensure a safe and secure environment,USAREUR said.It will consist of:
1.a multinational,brigade-level,computer-assisted command post exercise
2.integrated with a battalion-level field training exercise;
3.and a platoon-level situational training exercise.
4.There will also be integrated air and ground training near Starokonstantinov,Ukraine,with a focus on aeromedical evacuation;tactical airlift/air drop;logistics planning;and equipment preparation.*
Russian exercise Zapad 17 will coincide with RT 17,running from 16-20 September.Moscow keeps about 2,000 troops in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria,to the disapproval of the Moldovan Government.
In 1992,Russian troops backed the separatists in Transdniestria,who proclaimed their independence from Moldova.No other country has recognised their independence.*
Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine.
President Dodon,whose role is mainly symbolic,favours a strategic partnership with Russia;while the Moldovan Government is pro-Europe.Mr.Dodon is also opposed to NATO opening a liaison office in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.The Moldovan Minister of Defence was planning to send 57 troops to RT 17.*
RT 17 will focus on peacekeeping and stability operations to ensure a safe and secure environment,USAREUR said.It will consist of:
1.a multinational,brigade-level,computer-assisted command post exercise
2.integrated with a battalion-level field training exercise;
3.and a platoon-level situational training exercise.
4.There will also be integrated air and ground training near Starokonstantinov,Ukraine,with a focus on aeromedical evacuation;tactical airlift/air drop;logistics planning;and equipment preparation.*
Russian exercise Zapad 17 will coincide with RT 17,running from 16-20 September.Moscow keeps about 2,000 troops in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria,to the disapproval of the Moldovan Government.
In 1992,Russian troops backed the separatists in Transdniestria,who proclaimed their independence from Moldova.No other country has recognised their independence.*
Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine.
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