The key facts

  • The
  • Nearly 3,000 servicemen from 11 countries are involved; the US is not participating, while Brussels is trying to bring Canada in
  • Life.ru presents four versions of the exercises' motives, including preparation for a possible troop deployment to Ukraine after the end of hostilities

What is known about the exercises

Large-scale exercises called As Life.ru reports, nearly 3,000 servicemen from 11 countries are taking part. The main venue is a training ground near the Polish city of Nowa Dęba, while the naval component will take place in Istanbul. According to the outlet's wording, what is being practiced is

Four versions of the motives

The outlet lays out four possible motives for the exercises, emphasizing that this is the author's analytical assessment. The first is preparation for a troop deployment after the conflict is definitively over, but, according to the author, there is an internal contradiction here: the stationing of European troops in Ukraine is possible only within the framework of a full-scale peace agreement, part of which, from Moscow's point of view, must be a ban on such a deployment — Ukraine must not be in NATO either formally or de facto. The second motive is preparation for a full-scale war with Russia, which Life.ru considers unlikely: militarization is interpreted rather as a tool for consolidating the EU and gaining subjecthood, including within the transatlantic bloc. It is noted that the exercises are conducted by the European bloc without US participation, but Brussels is trying to bring Canada on board.

Political context and Moscow's reaction

The third motive, according to the outlet, is political: the exercises begin on the eve of the resumption in Abu Dhabi of consultations on a settlement in the Russia — USA — Ukraine format, at the table for which Europe is being kept out by both Moscow and Washington. According to this interpretation, Brussels is demonstrating its ability to escalate the conflict in order to secure a seat at the negotiating table. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated: