The British military will send about 8,000 troops to Europe as part of a larger allied deployment to deter further Russian aggression, British officials say.
British troops will serve in the Expeditionary Force, a British-led multinational group formed in 2014 in response to Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of troops from the Expeditionary Force and NATO countries will participate in the exercises between April and June, the UK’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement. previous report by The Guardian.
“These exercises will see our militaries join forces with allies and partners across NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force to demonstrate unity and strength in one of the most powerful wars in the world. largest joint deployment since the Cold War,” Ben Wallace, UK Defense Secretary, said in the statement.
The exercise has long been planned and British participation was announced in February, but British officials said it was expanded as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The joint force deployment is temporary, but NATO allies are considering whether to expand the forces they deploy on a rotating basis to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These discussions are expected to continue at the NATO summit in Spain, which is scheduled to begin on June 29.
Each NATO combat group has about 1,500 soldiers. Some NATO allies want to expand those forces to brigade size, which could make them around 3,000 troops each.
NATO also discussed ways to provide enhanced security assistance to Sweden and Finland if they wish to join the alliance. While NATO is expected to roll out membership quickly, it will take months for individual allies to ratify the deal, leaving those countries with no guarantees about the alliance’s security.
The joint force deployment would focus in part on the security of the Baltic region, and it could provide a measure of reassurance for Finland and Sweden. Both joined forces.
