NATO was founded

For the past three days, exercises have been taking place in the skies over Poland under the auspices of NATO, with intensive flight operations involving fighter aircraft such as the F-35, support aircraft and tankers for in-flight refuelling. These are more than just simple exercises; this time, several analysts have highlighted their scale and, above all, the strategic message that the Atlantic Alliance is determined to send to Russia in response to the growing threats from the Kremlin. NATO is demonstrating that, in the event of an attack, it would have no difficulty in asserting its air superiority. The point is also to demonstrate that Kaliningrad, Moscow’s exclave nestled between Poland and Lithuania, is indeed a threat, but that using it risks backfiring on the Russian military.

NATO has begun exercises that appear to be a dress rehearsal for air defence and, should any provocation ever arise from the fortress-like exclave, the Alliance wishes to demonstrate that it would be very difficult for Russia to intervene: Kaliningrad is heavily armed, but now that NATO has expanded with the accession of Sweden and Finland, the Baltic Sea is no longer an area that Moscow can dominate and use as a link to Kaliningrad. And in the event of a confrontation, what these exercises demonstrate is that the fortress can easily be isolated. It is rare for NATO to send such direct messages. Equally direct was the decision to strike the explosive-laden marine drone intercepted in the Black Sea as it approached the Romanian coast. The Alliance wants to demonstrate that threats are taken seriously and that Russia’s gamble on a lack of response – or a delayed one – to a provocation has failed. This stance applies to member states, but also to Ukraine: NATO’s Military Committee will pay an official visit to Ukraine in October. Whilst Admiral Cavo Dragone, who heads the Alliance’s highest authority, is already very familiar with Ukraine, for the committee as a whole this will be the first official visit in eight years.