{"id":55354,"date":"2023-06-13T09:40:34","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T07:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=55354"},"modified":"2023-06-13T09:40:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T07:40:34","slug":"nato-commences-largest-ever-air-defender-23-exercises-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-commences-largest-ever-air-defender-23-exercises-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO commences largest-ever \u201cAir Defender 23\u201d exercises in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

NATO has commenced its largest-ever aerial exercise in Europe on June 12th<\/sup> to demonstrate unity towards partners and potential threats, such as Russia.<\/p>\n

The \u201cAir Defender 23\u201d drills, led by Germany, will involve around 250 fighter aircrafts from 25 NATO member states and partner countries, including Japan and Sweden. The exercises will last until June 23rd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Up to 10,000 soldiers are participating in the drills, aiming to enhance cooperation and readiness to defend against drone and missile attacks within NATO territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe important message we are sending is that we can defend ourselves,\u201d said Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz.<\/p>\n

The \u201cAir Defender\u201d exercises were established in 2018 as a response to Russia\u2019s annexation of Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula, although Gerhartz emphasized that this is no longer the objective.<\/p>\n

He stated that the drills \u201cwill not, for example, send any planes towards Kaliningrad\u201d, a Russian enclave located on the border with NATO member states Poland and Lithuania.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a defensive alliance, and these exercises are planned accordingly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Wunstorf, Germany, to oppose the exercises. The protesters held banners with slogans such as \u201cPractice peace, not war\u201d. They also called for a \u201cdiplomatic solution\u201d to Russia\u2019s occupation of Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Amy Gutmann, stated that the exercises will demonstrate \u201cwithout a doubt the ability and speed of our allied force\u201d and that these drills aim to send a message to states, including Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be surprised if any world leader did not understand that this exercise demonstrates the spirit of the alliance, which implies the strength of this alliance, including [Russian President, Vladimir] Putin,\u201d she said. \u201cBy synchronizing together, we multiply our strength,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Russia initiated the unprovoked occupation of Ukraine in February 2022. Following the start of the occupation, Finland and Sweden \u2013 two neutral states \u2013 requested NATO membership to avoid a conflict with Moscow. Sweden is still aiming to become the alliance\u2019s newest member.<\/p>\n

According to Article 5 of NATO, any attack on a member state is considered an attack on all member states.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NATO has commenced its largest-ever aerial exercise in Europe on June 12th to demonstrate unity towards partners and potential threats, such as Russia. The \u201cAir Defender 23\u201d drills, led by Germany, will involve around 250 fighter aircrafts from 25 NATO member states and partner countries, including Japan and Sweden. The exercises will last until June […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[2733,2732,1567,1745,2734,281,243,151,2212,791,284,1238,726],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNATO commences largest-ever \u201cAir Defender 23\u201d exercises in Europe - Euronews Albania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/nato-commences-largest-ever-air-defender-23-exercises-in-europe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NATO commences largest-ever \u201cAir Defender 23\u201d exercises in Europe - Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NATO has commenced its largest-ever aerial exercise in Europe on June 12th to demonstrate unity towards partners and potential threats, such as Russia. 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