The American aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge arrived in Sweden to take part in NATO exercises to “contain” Russia. This was reported on June 4 by The New York Times.
The publication material says that there are 2.4 thousand crew members on board the ship, and there may also be 26 military aircraft and helicopters. It is reported that NATO troops, as well as Sweden and Finland, will take part in the exercises in the Baltic Sea.
According to the scenario of the exercises, the military will have to “storm” the lands captured by the mock enemy and work out the tasks of sea landing. It is expected that the military personnel of 16 countries will “seize” the foothold in the Stockholm archipelago.
NATO’s annual exercise, Baltic Operations 22, will take place from 5 to 17 June.
On May 29, Greek army veteran Stavros Atlamazoglou said that the North Atlantic Alliance was in an awkward situation due to the invitation of the Turkish military to a major exercise in Sweden. According to him, it was no accident that Sweden was chosen as the venue for the maneuvers due to their desire to join NATO with Finland. At the same time, Turkey is the only member of the bloc that has vetoed their membership in the alliance.
On May 18, Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO. The ambassadors of the two countries handed them over to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at headquarters in Brussels. According to the Secretary General, the alliance is counting on quick steps to formalize the membership of these countries in the bloc.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted critically to the statement by the authorities of Finland and Sweden about plans to join the alliance, noting that in this way the security of these countries would not be ensured. Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 16 during the anniversary summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization noted that the expansion of NATO is artificial.
