London to send 2,600 troops and 730 vehicles to NATO exercise

The UK will send 2.6 thousand servicemen and 730 units of equipment to the NATO Steadfast Dart exercise, which will be held from January to February in Bulgaria and Romania. The corresponding statement was published on January 3 on the website of the British Ministry of Defense.

"The UK provides the largest contribution with armed forces of more than 2.6 thousand people and 730 pieces of equipment deployed on NATO's eastern flank," the publication said.

The agency noted that the 1st Division of the UK will exercise command of all ground forces participating in the maneuvers. At the same time, Steadfast Dart will also involve the Navy and Air Force of the Kingdom.

"The new NATO Rapid Reaction Force will not only support the defense of the North Atlantic Alliance in times of crisis, but also strengthen the ability to provide deterrence to our adversaries, including Russia," the document says.

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Earlier, on November 29, 2024, it became known that in Poland started NATO military exercise TUMAK-24, which was held 70 km from the border with Russia. The training was conducted by the 16th Mechanized Division of the Polish Army and allied NATO forces, it involved about 2.5 thousand soldiers and used 800 pieces of military equipment. The main element of the exercise, which ended on December 2, was the crossing of Lake Kempno by tanks at the training ground in Ożysz.

Before that, December 4, 2024, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said that the growth of military activity of the North Atlantic Alliance near the borders of Russia and Belarus creates a tense geopolitical situation and makes various scenarios possible.

In October of the same year, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry Andrei Belousov drew attention to the fact that NATO states in 2024 held a series of exercises, which became the largest since the end of the Cold War. During these exercises, the bloc's military practiced potential scenarios of a large-scale conflict with Russia.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a communication with the military that Russia was not going to go to war with NATO. According to him, this is just nonsense. He said that Russia had not moved toward the borders of NATO countries, but the alliance had come close to Russia's borders, noting that NATO was climbing even into Asia and Latin America.