Russia launches live-fire Baltic naval drills on Europe’s doorstep

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it began begun live-fire naval exercises in the Baltic Se a on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions with nearby European nations that are already high over NATO and Ukraine.

Russia last carried out mass military exercises in the Baltic Sea in June, two months after Finland became NATO’s newest member. The drills took place at the same time NATO was holding its own Baltic Sea exercises.

The Russian exercises announced Wednesday will involve more personnel and aircraft than the last round and will feature the use of live weapons. The Russian defense ministry said the navy’s commander-in-chief, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, will oversee the drills, which were designed to test “the navy’s readiness to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation in an operationally important area.”

The Ocean Shield-2023 exercises will involve forces practicing how to “protect sea lanes, transport troops and military cargo, as well as defend the coastline,” the ministry said. More than 200 combat exercises will involve some 6,000 personnel, 30 warships and boats and 30 aircraft, it added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long railed against NATO and has tried to limit the Western military alliance’s expansion, especially to countries which used to be part of the Soviet Union. The Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia joined NATO in 2004.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden both applied to join NATO. Finland, which has a Baltic coast, became the 31st member in April, more than doubling Russia’s land border with NATO.

俄罗斯国防部表示，周三在波罗的海开始举行实弹海军演习，加剧了与邻近欧洲国家的紧张关系，而这些紧张关系本已因北约和乌克兰问题而高度紧张。

俄罗斯上一次在波罗的海举行大规模军事演习是在6月份，当时距离芬兰成为北约最新成员国仅两个月。此次演习与北约在波罗的海举行的演习同时进行。

俄罗斯周三宣布的演习将比上一轮演习投入更多人员和飞机，并将使用实弹。俄罗斯国防部表示，海军总司令尼古拉·叶夫梅诺夫海军上将将监督此次演习，演习旨在检验“海军在重要作战区域保护俄罗斯联邦国家利益的准备情况”。

国防部表示，“海洋之盾-2023”演习将包括部队演练如何“保护海上航道、运输部队和军事物资以及保卫海岸线”。国防部还补充说，此次演习将包含200多项作战演练，约有6000名人员、30艘军舰和艇以及30架飞机参与。

俄罗斯总统普京长期以来一直抨击北约，并试图限制这个西方军事联盟的扩张，尤其是限制其吸纳前苏联加盟共和国。波罗的海三国——拉脱维亚、立陶宛和爱沙尼亚——于2004年加入北约。

俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后，芬兰和瑞典都申请加入北约。芬兰拥有波罗的海沿岸，于4月成为北约第31个成员国，使俄罗斯与北约的陆地边界线增加了一倍多。