NATO Holds Army Exercises in Finland

According to a report by Reference News Network on May 20, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported on May 18 that thousands of soldiers from multiple NATO countries are conducting army exercises near the Finnish border with Russia.

According to a previous report from the Finnish Army, the second phase of the "Sword Strike 26" exercise, which began on May 11, was scheduled for May 18. The exercise, codenamed "Arctic Star 26," will take place at a training ground in Kuhmo and will last until May 30. The city is located 70 kilometers from the Russian border.

The exercise will involve approximately 4,500 soldiers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Hungary, Poland, and France.

Pavel Kuznetsov, the Russian ambassador to Finland, previously stated that Finland is strengthening its armed forces' training activities both domestically and abroad, and has expanded the scale of exercises held near the Russian border. He pointed out that Russia will conduct military-political planning based on the threat level from Finland.

Earlier, Polish media reported that earlier this month, thousands of soldiers from several NATO countries and hundreds of pieces of military equipment participated in exercises held at the Orzysz training ground in Poland. The participating soldiers conducted live-fire exercises. This exercise is part of the "Sword Strike 26" exercise.

According to a report by RIA Novosti on May 18, NATO stated in a press release that a large-scale maritime joint exercise, "Dynamic Mongoose 2026," began on May 18 in the North Atlantic and will last until May 29, aimed at practicing anti-submarine warfare tasks.

This exercise is hosted by NATO Allied Maritime Command, with forces from multiple NATO member countries participating.

The exercise location is in the Greenland-Iceland-UK defense line, which is NATO's anti-submarine defense zone located between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK, where the U.S. anti-submarine sonar system is deployed. Since 2012, NATO has been regularly conducting exercises in this maritime area, with recent participating countries including Norway, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the United States.

The goal of this exercise is to enhance NATO forces' capabilities to respond to underwater threats. Sailors will practice various scenarios, including evading pursuers and counterattacking enemies from deep water.