Britain will send troops as part of NATO exercises unprecedented since the Cold War
Grant Shapps, British Defense Secretary, in London, January 15, 2024. ANNA GORDON / Portal
The UK will deploy 20,000 troops this year as part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises unprecedented since the Cold War, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Monday.
This deployment, which he described as “the most important” for the British Army within NATO in forty years, is a response to the “threat” posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Troops from the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army will be sent across Europe and beyond for the exercise, dubbed 'Steadfast Defender', planned for the first half of the year and involving contingents from the thirty other NATO member states must and Sweden, a candidate country. Combat or reconnaissance aircraft as well as ships and submarines are required to participate.
In a speech at Lancaster House in London, Mr Shapps stressed that NATO faces “bigger than ever” challenges from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, adding that the alliance's opponents are “more connected” than ever before.
He also called on his allies to increase their military spending, as the United Kingdom did by pledging to increase it to 2.5% of its gross domestic product, 0.5% more than planned for NATO members. At a time when some Western countries' support for Ukraine appears to be in doubt, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week promised Kiev £2.5 billion (2.9 billion euros) over two years.