On Tuesday, November 3, NATO exercises Geležinis Vilkas 2020 (Iron Wolf 2020) began in Lithuania.

This is reported by the command of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, indicating that about 3 thousand servicemen of the republic and nine other countries - members of the North Atlantic Alliance will be involved in the maneuvers.

“In total, about 1,000 units of military equipment will take part in the exercises: tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, artillery cannons, supply and administrative vehicles and more than 3 thousand soldiers from Lithuania and nine NATO allies,” the press release of the Lithuanian command of the Armed Forces.

It is also reported that the exercises are being held to assess the "readiness of the combat group of NATO front forces", as well as its interaction with the Lithuanian army.

In the maneuvers, they will use, among other things, imitation ammunition and pyrotechnics.

The exercise is scheduled to last until November 17.

Regular maneuvers

Let us remind you that NATO regularly conducts military exercises in Lithuania.

So, on October 29, the maneuvers of the Brilliant Jump 2020 alliance began in the republic, which will continue until November 7.

This was reported by the Lithuanian command of the Armed Forces.

More than 2.5 thousand servicemen and about 600 units of military equipment will be involved in the training.

As noted in a press release from the Supreme Allied Command Europe, the maneuvers are aimed at "increasing and demonstrating the readiness and mobility of the Joint High-Readiness Task Force."

It was also reported that it was the "deployment on land" phase of the Brilliant Jump 2020 exercise that was taking place in Lithuania. Earlier, from September 28 to October 2, the naval stage of these maneuvers took place "with the deployment of four NATO frigates as part of the first permanent NATO naval group ".

“The second phase of Brilliant Jump II, as with the naval phase, will demonstrate the ability to deploy and integrate NATO's Rapid Reaction Force with other NATO partner forces in a timely manner to contribute to NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities,” - said in the message of the NATO Supreme Command in Europe.

In mid-September, Lithuania also hosted a multinational NATO air defense exercise, Tobruq Legacy 2020 ("Legacy of Tobruk 2020").

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the republic.

It was planned that about 950 soldiers from Lithuania, Estonia, Italy, USA, Latvia, Poland, France, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary will take part in the maneuvers.

The allies were to arrive at the exercises with Patriot, SAMP / T, Avenger, Mistral, RBS 70, GROM, Poprad, Stinger air defense systems.

As reported in NATO, for two weeks, the military of the bloc countries within the framework of Tobruq Legacy 2020 "will be engaged in the further development and improvement of their tactics, techniques and procedures in accordance with the general standards" of the alliance.

“Allied air defense units from the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and the United States, as well as additional participants from Estonia, Italy and Poland, will work with specialists from the Allied Air Command (Ramstein) and Joint Air Operations Centers (Udem, Torrejon), as well as jointly carry out training tasks in three training areas in Lithuania, ”reads a statement on the NATO website.

  • Brilliant Jump 2020 exercises in Lithuania

  • © Lithuanian Armed Forces

The exercises Griffin Strike 2020 / Hunter 2020 took place from 2 to 14 August, the command of the Lithuanian Armed Forces reported.

It is specified that the personnel of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, as well as the Air Force of the American contingent deployed in Poland, were involved in the exercises.

In total, there were about 1300 participants.

“The international exercises Griffin Strike 2020 / Hunter 2020 are held to improve interaction between infantry, anti-tank and artillery units, as well as to coordinate actions, including with close air support and in the context of defensive and offensive operations to strengthen cooperation in the field of defense and exchange of experience between the allies, "the message of the command of the Lithuanian Armed Forces says. 

"Becomes the center of activity"

As the president of the Russian Association for Baltic Studies Nikolai Mezhevich noted, "Lithuania is becoming the center of NATO activity in the Baltic region."

“In this sense, the republic is the undisputed leader.

However, it cannot be said that nothing is happening in Estonia and Latvia, all kinds of exercises of the alliance are also held very often there, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

As military expert Yuri Knutov noted in an interview with RT, "recently the purpose of NATO exercises is to exert some pressure on the authorities of Belarus."

“These maneuvers can be seen as a deliberate show of strength.

At the same time, military exercises in the Baltic region, and in Lithuania in particular, practically do not stop - some end, others begin right there, ”the analyst believes.

However, Russia remains the main enemy for NATO, Mezhevich believes.

According to Mezhevich, with its exercises the North Atlantic Alliance "seeks to increase tensions along the Russian borders."

“Russia has to react to the increase in the military contingent in Eastern Europe,” the analyst said.

  • NATO flag

  • Reuters

  • © Ints Kalnins

As Knutov clarified, "the danger is that after the exercises along the Russian borders, the equipment and weapons of the alliance remain in place, and only the personnel are diminishing."

“That is, if you need to quickly build up the NATO grouping on the border, then it won't take much time, because the equipment has already been deployed.

It will only be necessary to redeploy the personnel.

These are extremely dangerous tendencies, which Russia informs its Western colleagues about, but they do not react to this in any way, ”the expert stated.

Mezhevich, for his part, noted that NATO's activity near the Russian borders creates considerable risks both for Russia and for the alliance itself due to "unforeseen incidents."

“The fact is that during the exercises of the bloc, extraordinary incidents often occur with the participation of the NATO military.

One has only to recall the erroneous missile launch over Estonia, which has not yet been found.

And it's hard to even imagine what kind of tragedy could play out if this type of weapon flew towards Russia and reached its territory, ”the analyst said.

At the same time, Mezhevich stressed that "it is the NATO side that constantly prepares provocations."

“Moreover, in a number of cases Vilnius plays an active role here.

It is not NATO that persuades Lithuania to become a country on whose territory such a large number of maneuvers are conducted, but rather the opposite - it is she who insists on arranging another "action" at the Russian borders.

And all this despite the fact that the conduct of NATO exercises negatively affects the safety of local residents, ”the expert said.

Discussing why Vilnius itself is actually initiating an increase in the activity of the exercises on its territory, Mezhevich noted that one of the reasons is domestic.

“The Lithuanian government needs to unite the population.

This requires a threat, in Lithuania it is very difficult to sell, for example, the Chinese threat, because China is far away.

Therefore, the old rotten myth about Russia, which is to blame for everything, is used.

This myth has been used in Lithuania for a very long time, ”the analyst said.

The second reason is the financial benefit from NATO exercises for the Lithuanian leadership, Mezhevich believes.

“There is a system of compensatory payments of the total NATO budget in favor of those countries on whose territory the maneuvers take place.

Indeed, because of the exercises, fences often fall, tanks spoil the asphalt, a cow can fall under an armored car.

However, there is absolutely no guarantee that these payments will reach ordinary residents.

But the power structures will undoubtedly find use for this money, ”the expert concluded.