NATO exercises in Lapland at -15 degrees shocked the British military

Many British servicemen were shocked by the conditions of NATO exercises in Finnish Lapland at -15 degrees Celsius. Major David Mortimer, deputy commander of the 19th Regiment of the Royal Artillery, said on Nov. 26.

"For many of our personnel, being here in such testing conditions has been a real culture shock," the UK Defense Journal quoted him as saying.

Mortimer described such conditions as extreme Arctic conditions. It is noted that the military also underwent rigorous training, including operator courses for cold weather and ice and snow driving training.

The exercise took place at the Rovajärvi training ground, Gazeta.ru specifies .

Earlier, on November 20, TV and radio company Yle stated that Finnish Lapland is not ready for the deployment of NATO troops. It is specified that this is evidenced by the poor condition of roads, bridges and railroads, as well as the lack of infrastructure in important regions.

Before that, on October 28, retired military expert Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk said that the November NATO Lightning Strike 24 exercise in Finland is necessary for the North Atlantic Alliance to push Russia out of the Arctic. He emphasized that NATO is using the territories of Norway, Finland and Sweden to strengthen its base and deploy forces and capabilities that should help deter Russia.