NATO to Reportedly ‘Rehearse’ Military Offensive Against Russia
The war games are yet another planned NATO military event that closely follows the August withdrawal by the US from the landmark Soviet-American INF Treaty, widely been seen as one of Europe 's major security pillars, since the end of the Cold War era.
The German news outlet Junge Welt has reported that NATO drills which go by the name "Europe Defender-2020" will mark the most massive transfer of US forces to the European continent in the past 25 years.
Its recent article says that the military exercise's plans stipulate that American troops will first be relocated via the Atlantic to western Europe, from where they'll further be transferred to Poland and the Baltic states. They will ultimately be stationed there, in the immediate proximity of the Russian border, the edition notes.
"Officially, these are going to be US Forces drills," the article claims, further stating that in fact, the NATO members are going to prepare a rehearsal of an offensive "in the event of a war against Russia."
The first troop maneuvers are expected around February, after the holiday season is over, with over 18 members state partaking in the drills, including Germany.
In October, a string of covert war games was reported to have been held by NATO allies in Germany, just two months after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between Russia and the US, prompted by Washington's withdrawal from the accord on 2 August.
According to the German newspaper Kronen Zeitung, the drills, codenamed "Steadfast Noon", saw military personnel utilize warplanes which could be equipped with nuclear weapons in the event of a war.
Signed in 1987, the INF Treaty required the two countries, the USSR and US, to eliminate and permanently ditch the development of ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,417 miles).
