French expert explains purpose of EU rapid deployment force exercises

Moscow should neither ignore nor exaggerate the threat of the EU rapid deployment force military exercises that will begin on November 25 in Germany, French geopolitics and strategy analyst Cyrille de Lattre told Izvestia.

"This is a joint exercise to see how different groups of troops in the area of operation interact. It is theoretically conceivable that they could be used to pre-position troops before their rapid deployment to Ukraine if necessary. But, on the other hand, this is something that usually cannot be done without a pan-European consensus and certainly a vote. And the EU cannot reach such a consensus," he emphasized.

The exercise will involve 15 EU countries and more than 1.7 thousand soldiers. According to Brussels' plan, the deployment forces may reach the number of 5 thousand people by 2025. They should respond to any crisis outside the borders of the community.

Read more in the exclusive material of Izvestia:

Prepare: the EU has linked its military exercises to the actions of the Russian Federation