The destroyer Paul Ignatius and the headquarters ship Mount Whitney left the Baltic Sea after the start of the Iran-Israel conflict
The Baltops-2025 NATO exercises are coming to an end in the Baltic Sea. The destroyer Paul Ignatius and the headquarters ship Mount Whitney of the 6th operational fleet of the US Navy left the Baltic before the end of the maneuvers — after the escalation of the Iranian-Israeli conflict. Experts suggest that these combat units were deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, to the Middle East.
They left early
The guided missile destroyer Paul Ignatius and the headquarters ship Mount Whitney of the 6th operational Fleet of the US Navy left the Baltic Sea before the end of the NATO Baltops-2025 exercises. As informed sources told Izvestia, this happened immediately after the mutual strikes between Israel and Iran.
"Most likely, they went to the Mediterranean Sea to strengthen the grouping of US ships," military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia. — Apparently, they will take part in repelling the Iranian attacks. Destroyers of this type have a large number of anti-aircraft missiles, about 90. It is well suited to defend against an air attack — and Iranian missiles can reach Israel. And the headquarters ship is needed to manage the US forces in the region.
U.S. Navy Headquarters Ship Mount Whitney
Image source: Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Voelker
As for the Baltops-2025 exercises, NATO forces were probably working out a scenario of an attack on Russia, a fight against our group in the Baltic region, the expert added.
The destroyer Paul Ignatius and the headquarters ship Mount Whitney regularly enter the Baltic Sea and have repeatedly participated in various exercises of the alliance. Mount Whitney is adapted to manage the operations of diverse fleet forces. He can command large formations of ships and large-scale operations. The Arleigh Burke—class ship is a destroyer with a vertical launch system for Tomahawk cruise missiles of up to 56 units, as well as an Aegis air and missile defense system carrier.
Who is interested in aggravating the situation in the Baltic
Against the background of the conflict between Israel and Iran, the attention of the United States will be focused on this region. Therefore, it is situationally possible to transfer a small part of the military and equipment from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, Nikita Lipunov, a junior researcher at MGIMO, told Izvestia. Ensuring regional security will remain a priority for the Nordic and Baltic States.
Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS
Image source: iz.ru
— The main goal of NATO in the Baltic now is a demonstration of force and a policy of containing Russia. They conduct exercises, show their solidarity and demonstrate the possibilities of a forceful response to security challenges. One of the justifications for such increased activity in the countries of the region is the increased incidence of sabotage on critically important underwater infrastructure," the expert noted.
Although the involvement of a particular state in these incidents has not been established, NATO countries unfairly accuse Russia of them and use them as an excuse to increase their activity, Lipunov noted.
"The EU countries and the United Kingdom are showing the greatest interest in the escalation in the Baltic, for which it is now extremely important to do everything possible to prevent the United States from completely switching to Middle Eastern affairs," Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, told Izvestia. — Europe is well aware that Washington can use the escalation between Israel and Iran as an opportunity to get out of the Ukrainian conflict, so in this case, European leaders face the need to show that Russia is a greater threat than Iran.
According to the expert, Europe's dependence on US support will remain, it lacks the military and financial capabilities to replace American aid to Ukraine.
The frigate of the German Navy Bayern
Image source: Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Voelker
— The failed "coalition of the willing" to deploy so-called peacekeepers in Ukraine highlights this gap. Therefore, in order not to be left alone with Russia, the Europeans can resort to any provocations in the Baltic Sea in order to regain Washington's attention," he explained.
The alliance's exercises started on June 3. About 50 ships of various types took part in them. So, the Germans sent the Bayern frigate, and the British sent a group of P2000 patrol ships. In addition, 25 aircraft and 9 thousand people were involved in the maneuvers. military personnel from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, France, Finland, Sweden and Turkey.
Baltops-25 took place in the southern part of the Baltic Sea, from the Danish Straits and the Jutland Peninsula to the Gulf of Gdansk. In the naval ranges, the crews of some ships conducted artillery firing.
How did the exercises of the Russian Baltic Fleet go?
The maneuvers of the NATO forces took place against the background of the exercises of the Russian Baltic Fleet, which started at the end of May. Their goals were to achieve the stability of fleet basing systems, to work out timely detection and notification of the appearance of the enemy and his actions, to ensure the safety of coastal sea communications, and to create favorable conditions for the preparation and performance of combat missions on their own.
Exercises of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Federation
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The crews of the ships solved anti-submarine tasks and practiced protection against unmanned boats, conducted practical artillery firing at sea and air targets. Naval aviation pilots practiced tasks over the sea, and combat crews of coastal missile systems solved training tasks to detect surface targets and issue target designations when launching missile strikes against surface ships of a simulated enemy.
More than 20 warships, boats and support vessels were involved in the maneuvers, including a frigate, corvettes, small missile ships and boats, small anti-submarine ships, minesweepers and support vessels. About 3,000 military personnel, about 25 aircraft and helicopters, and up to 70 units of military and special equipment were involved. The forces of the Northern Fleet were also involved with the support of the aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Moscow and Leningrad military districts.
Roman Kretsul
Kirill Fenin
