A detachment of three warships of the North Atlantic Alliance will arrive on a visit to Finland, the country's naval forces reported on May 26.
They are expected at the port of the capital Helsinki on Saturday, May 27. Ships from Norway, Germany and France will arrive to participate in the Baltops 23 exercises in the Baltic Sea.
"The visit is part of NATO's planned operations in the Baltic Sea," the statement said.
A Katanpää-class mine-fighting vessel will take part in the exercises on the part of the Finnish Navy. The ships FGS Rottweil from Germany and FS Pegase from France specialize in monitoring the water area, the ministry added. The Norwegian Coast Guard patrol ship HNoMS Nordkapp will lead the group.
Earlier, on May 26, large-scale military exercises "Spring Storm" with the participation of more than 14 thousand military personnel from a number of NATO countries ended in Estonia. The maneuvers took place from May 15.
On the eve of the military expert Alexei Leonkov said that NATO openly says that it is preparing for war with the Russian Federation. Accordingly, he commented on an article in the German newspaper Bild that the NATO Air Defender 2023 exercises under the auspices of Germany are designed to demonstrate the combat readiness of the bloc to Russia.
On May 18, the exercises of the special forces troops Junction Strike 2023 (JUST 23) ended in Romania. On the part of Romania, more than 500 military personnel participated in the maneuvers, as well as about 100 units of ground, air and sea combat equipment. The foreign contingent numbered about 100 soldiers.
Before that, on May 16, the Swedish Defense Ministry announced that the Arctic Challenge Exercise 2023 (ACE 2023) air force exercises will be held in northern Europe from May 29 to June 9. Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the USA, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden will take part in the Air Force exercises.
