Britain has committed 20,000 military personnel for participation in a significant NATO exercise in the first half of this year, alongside warships and fighter jets, according to an announcement by the defense ministry on Monday.
This deployment involves 16,000 troops from the British army, stationed in Eastern Europe from February to June, along with an aircraft carrier strike group, F35B Lightning attack jets, and surveillance planes.
The NATO exercise, named Steadfast Defender 24, is a commemoration of the alliance’s 75th year.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, in excerpts from a speech scheduled for later on Monday at Lancaster House, disclosed, “I can announce today that the UK will be dispatching approximately 20,000 personnel to partake in one of NATO’s most substantial deployments since the conclusion of the Cold War.”
The move comes as a response to the heightened military preparedness in NATO following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. NATO has been consistently supporting Kyiv with military, economic, and humanitarian aid.
In relation to the exercise, Shapps remarked, “It will witness our military collaborating with counterparts from 30 NATO countries plus Sweden, offering crucial reassurance against the Putin menace.”
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared an increase in Britain’s support for Ukraine in the next financial year to £2.5 billion ($3.19 billion), a rise of £200 million compared to the previous two years.
