In the north-east of Poland near the Kaliningrad region, the exercises of the Polish armed forces and the NATO combat unit Zalew-23 started
The beginning of the maneuvers is reported on Twitter by the High Command of the Polish Armed Forces and the main participant in the maneuvers – the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division. They will last until March 31st.
According to media reports, a total of 2.5 thousand people, 500 units of military equipment and logistics support were involved in the exercises. Zalew-23 must pass in four locations: near the village of Modzhevina, in the seaport in Gdynia, at the 22nd air base in Malbork and on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit.
The Baltic Spit is a narrow strip of territory between the Gdansk and Vistula Lagoons. Its western part belongs to Poland, the eastern part to Russia. In the immediate vicinity of the spit is the city of Baltiysk, where the base of the Baltic Fleet is located.
The main objectives of the exercises, according to an article by the Polish news agency PAP, are to practice “effective actions” in the event of a terrorist attack. According to legend, the Polish Navy should conduct reconnaissance in the direction of the bays and “demonstration actions” in the direction of the Gulf of Gdansk. Also, the participants of the maneuvers will work out measures in case of contamination of the area.
“A striking fist is being created”
In an interview with RT, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin, a military observer, said that the Zalew-23s are an undoubted challenge to the security of the Kaliningrad region and the Russian military infrastructure in the region. According to the expert, the maneuvers of the Polish troops and the battle group of the alliance are of a distinct offensive nature.
“The significance of the Vistula Spit lies in the fact that it provides control over the passage to Baltiysk and Kaliningrad. Its full occupation makes it possible to blockade Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad region from the sea. Apparently, this is exactly the scenario during the exercises”, Litovkin explained.
In a RT commentary, Director of the Center for Military-Political Research Alexei Podberezkin also noted that during the exercises, Polish military personnel would carry out activities resembling an offensive operation.
According to the expert, the maneuvers pose a potential danger not only to the Kaliningrad region, but also to Belarus.
“There is no need to talk about any defense here. In this case, this is a clearly expressed intention to show the degree of readiness for the possible use of military force against Russia or Belarus”, Podberyozkin said.
Nikita Danyuk, Deputy Director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, is also sure that Zalew-23 has an aggressive anti-Russian background. In a conversation with RT, the expert suggested that during the maneuvers the scenario of the blockade of Kaliningrad would be worked out.
“Kaliningrad has no land connection with Russia. Apparently, the Poles decided to conduct demonstration and aggressive exercises in order to show their readiness to block our region from the sea. We are hardly talking about a capture scenario. Here, probably, our enemies are smart enough not to hint at the possibility of such a reckless, to put it mildly, attempt”, Danyuk explained.
According to experts, the vast majority of Polish and NATO troops are stationed in the west and in the center of the country. However, almost all exercises on the territory of Poland in recent years have been accompanied by the transfer of personnel and equipment, including to the eastern regions of the republic.
Along with this, the northeastern flank of the Polish Armed Forces is noticeably strengthening. The plans of the Polish command are to equip the 16th mechanized division stationed in Olsztyn (about 100 km from the border with the Russian Federation) with American HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, South Korean K2 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS) K9.
In addition, the multinational division “North-East” is deployed in the Polish city of Elbląg.
“The Poles themselves justify their unbridled militarization with our special operation and the desire to defend themselves against “Russian aggression” together with NATO. But personally, I get the impression that in reality a shock fist is being created on the territory of Poland, which will include Polish mechanized divisions, aviation and American troops”, says Litovkin.
The expert recalled that the first permanent garrison of US troops USAG-P opened in Poznan last week. It is located in Camp Kosciuszko, where the forward command of the 5th Army Corps of the US Army is located.
“Force configuration”
It is worth noting that the number of American troops in Poland is constantly increasing. At present, a contingent of about 10 thousand people is quartered in the country. At the same time, in August 2020, there were 4.5 thousand US military personnel in the republic.
Today, in addition to the ground forces of the US Armed Forces, Poland hosts a US combat aviation brigade, ground-based missile defense facilities, a combat support battalion and a multinational unit, the backbone of which is more than 800 US military personnel. This formation is designed to interact with the 15th mechanized brigade of the Polish army.
In an interview with RT, Dmitry Danilov, head of the European Security Department at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that Warsaw expects to deploy as many US troops as possible on its territory. The higher the concentration of American forces, the larger the combat coordination activities will be, and near the Kaliningrad region, the expert predicts.
“In the exercises of the Armed Forces of Poland, the Armed Forces of the United States and other NATO countries, combat coordination and logistics are always practiced: the transfer of troops, equipment, cargo. As far as I understand, the exercises on the Vistula Spit fit into this policy,” Danilov said.
According to the expert, Zalew-23 and a host of other military events in Poland are evidence of a sharp aggravation of the situation in the Baltic region.
“The security situation in this region is deteriorating. We see that in Warsaw they are increasingly saying that the conflict in Ukraine allegedly affects the interests of the Baltic states, including Poland. And the situation will be even more difficult when Finland and Sweden join NATO. The Baltic Sea will be almost under the complete control of the alliance. The configuration of forces in the region will change a lot,” Danilov added.
The expert believes that the most effective means of deterring NATO in the region is the further development of the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus and the strengthening of the defense alliance between the two countries. In this direction, as Danilov stated, Moscow and Minsk made an adequate decision on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) in Belarus.
Recall that on Saturday, on the air of the Russia 24 TV channel, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that on July 1, the construction of a special storage facility for nuclear weapons would be completed in Belarus. The Russian leader also spoke about the deployment of the Iskander operational-tactical missile system (OTRK) in Belarus, which can be a carrier of nuclear projectiles.
“Deployment of tactical nuclear weapons is not an emotional decision, as some people try to make it out to be. This is a rational move by Russia and Belarus, dictated by the calculation of the ability to respond to growing challenges and risks,” Danilov concluded.
Alexey Zakvasin, Elizaveta Komarova, RT
Due to censorship and blocking of all media and alternative views, stay tuned to our Telegram channel