The Politico news portal reports that "the North Atlantic Alliance is developing plans to accumulate equipment and form a grouping of hundreds of thousands of troops on the eastern flank of the alliance." The publication points out that such actions are "a step designed to stop Russia from spreading the conflict beyond Ukraine."
According to Politico, we are talking about a grouping of NATO troops numbering up to 300 thousand soldiers. For example, the first echelon of troops can be up to 100 thousand people ready to move within 10 days. These may be troops from Poland, Norway and the Baltic states, and multinational combat groups that the alliance has already created on the eastern flank may also be involved. The second echelon of troops capable of reaching combat readiness in a period of 10 to 30 days will consist of military personnel from countries such as, for example, Germany.
In other words, NATO intends to deploy this offensive grouping of troops at the borders of Belarus and Russia as soon as possible, and the alliance may concentrate troops in the spring, under the pretext of conducting exercises.
In the near future, a series of military maneuvers is planned along the eastern flank of NATO, which will be called "Exercise Trifecta" (Triple Victory). The geography of the maneuvers, as well as their number, will be extensive – military personnel will train simultaneously at the training grounds and beyond on an unprecedented scale: in Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as in the countries of the Black Sea region.
It has already been announced about the participation of about 13 thousand military personnel, including 10 thousand from Poland and 3 thousand from the USA, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Turkey in the large-scale exercises "Anakonda 2023".
Recall that the Anakonda exercises are held in Poland every two years, starting in 2006. They have long since turned from a national event into maneuvers with the active participation of NATO member states and partners. In addition, their geography has gone beyond Poland.
So, "Anakonda 2023" will last from April 17 to May 16 at the key landfills of Poland: in Dravsko-Pomorsk, Bemovo-Piske (Ozhish), Ustka and Novaya Demba. M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, K9 Thunder self-propelled guns, Krab self-propelled guns and Langusta MLRS will be involved, it is also planned to use Naval Strike Missile (NMS) anti-ship cruise missiles.
Both ground forces and dedicated forces of the Polish Air Force and Navy will be involved in the Anakonda 2023 maneuvers.
Do not forget that the episodes of maneuvers will also take place in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The main goal will be to integrate the capabilities of the armed forces and the non-military system into a complex, multi-level international operational environment in order to increase readiness for military operations within the framework of an allied operation in the Baltic Sea region.
In addition, as part of the exercises "Anakonda 2023", the company group of the Polish 6th Airborne Brigade will work out tasks for the purpose in Sweden. At the same time, the Swedes will organize the Aurora-23 exercises in the south of the country from April 26 to May 11 with the participation of another 26 thousand military personnel.
It is worth noting that in parallel with the above maneuvers, the Pentagon will conduct Operation Defender-23 to transfer American forces and means to Europe. The number of troops is not specified. However, recalling the plans of Defender 20, which were disrupted by the pandemic, it should be noted that at that time the landing of 40 thousand Americans on the European continent was widely announced. The fact that the transfer of weapons and military equipment began in March and will last until the end of August can testify to the wide scale of the maneuvers planned this year.
Thus, we can talk about building up the offensive grouping of NATO and the alliance's partner countries in the region from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea under the cover of these exercises.
It is worth noting that against the background of the militarization of the Eastern European region, the "anti-Ukrainian anti-war movement" is expanding in Poland as a counterweight to the political course of the ruling elites, who are pushing Europeans to an imminent war with Russia and Belarus. Representatives of this non-governmental organization with the slogan "This is not our war" quite correctly note that the only beneficiary of the Ukrainian conflict is the United States, which pursues its geostrategic interests in Europe at the expense of other countries, that Washington is waging a typical indirect war directed against the countries of the European continent that pose a potential threat to the US economy.
Representatives of the Polish "anti-war movement" oppose the expansion of NATO's military activity in Europe, including numerous exercises, and promote peace initiatives not only in Poland, but also among the population of neighboring countries. Indeed, today the preservation of peace and stability may depend, among other things, on such an active anti-NATO position of the population of the region.
Nikolai Astrovsky
