The situation of Canadian and other NATO forces rehearsing in Latvia a few years ago seemed unthinkable, even shockers of untrained eyes.
Within a muddy, winter training range of dozens of kilometers outside Riga, about 3,400 soldiers from 14 countries (led by the Canadian commander's brigade) exercised how to put the final defense of the Latvian capital.
The stark scene opened for 30 days, with a warlike neighbor who invaded the Baltic state under an unforgettable pseudonym.
Everyone knows that the “enemy” is Russia, but no one says the name.
The exercise was conducted the same week as the relationship between the United States and Ukraine was thrown into a deep freeze after an ugly TV yell involving President Donald Trump, Vice President Judd Vance and Ukrainian President Vorodimie Zelensky.
In Latvia, Washington is closer to the idea of Moscow orbit. The country witnessed the Russian base in the Baltic Sea – which was once emptied by troops and equipment due to the Ukrainian war – is now replenished and restocked.
The three Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) all increased the strengthening of their borders with Russia. However, the United States would respect the Holy Grail of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which stipulates an attack on a member.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds told CBC News in a recent exclusive interview that his country wants to see more NATO troops on the ground, and more military equipment pre-set in the small country is the necessary reinforcements brought in the crisis.
“There is space and space [bigger] And a stronger presence,” Spruds said in an interview that aired on CBC Radio on Saturday house.
“We have to remember that the Latvian border is the outer border between the EU and NATO. So it's not just about protecting Latvia, protecting the region. It's about protecting the eastern side, but also about protecting NATO and EU allies.”
The Western Military Alliance organized Latvia's defense under multinational corporations, including Canadian-led brigades. The department is led by Danish Maj.-Gen. Jette Albinus also told CBC News in a recent interview that his ceasefire (or Ukraine’s comprehensive peaceful settlement) would allow Russia to focus on the Baltic region.
Mid-February. The Danish International Institute published a report warning that Russia could continue its military accumulation in the Baltic and Arctic regions.
Albinus said the Danish Intelligence Agency has assessed that Ukraine's peace (although welcomed and necessary) would raise the level of threat to its borders with Baltic states.
“There is no doubt that the threat here will rise,” Albinus said.
“It just makes me lift my sleeves and do better…you have to show them you’re ready to fight and defend Latvia and the Baltic.”
Move troops in crisis
Since the Alliance Forces were first deployed in the Baltic Sea in 2017, the question for NATO military planners is whether contingents can be strengthened and supplemented in the crisis.
The current defense plan for Latvia is Canada, Denmark and Sweden have rushed to the country with more troops. The question is: Can they get there in the Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea?
Albinus said she is more confident that Sweden and Finland will join NATO and now the sea lanes will remain open.
Other Allied commanders said there were also large-scale plans to strengthen the Baltic Sea through the railway system.
Colonel Henrik Rosdahl, commander of the Swedish mechanization battalion, was part of a Canadian-led brigade, said his focus was to ensure that the troops already deployed could persevere and fight back when invaded.
But, he said, Sweden, like Canada, is rebuilding its military.
“Is I confident? I will say that,” Rosdal told CBC News. “We will have problems bringing the main force [to Latvia] As we said, we are building a defense force. ”
But he added that the question for reinforcements was better answered by his country's political and military leadership.
Lieutenant Mike Wright, commander of the Canadian Army, conducted an exercise in Latvia, said he was “satisfied” with the level of preparation for Canadian-led brigades, noting that the Germans had a separate hotel in Lithuania and the British in Estonia.
“We are not alone,” Wright said. “We are part of this deterrence and collective defense on the eastern side of NATO.”
Last year, the European Center for Policy Analysis (CEPA) examined the appearance of the Baltic War and its role in geopoliticality.
The report concluded that Russia could be able to make rapid gains in the Baltic region even with NATO reinforcements, and the Kremlin could also inform NATO that “any attempt to recapture Russia’s new Baltic tolerance would trigger a nuclear reaction within three days of opening up hostilities.”
Given that the Trump administration threatens to acquire Greenland “one way or another” and potentially annex Canada through economic forces, the CEPA scenarios (such as the war game in Latvia) seem to be no longer far-fetched.
