DISINFO: NATO exercises prove that the Alliance is preparing to send troops to Ukraine
SUMMARY
NATO military exercises in Poland are preparations for the US to send troops to Ukraine. The transfer of NATO troops to Ukraine will be one of the main events of this year. It is still difficult to say what American trick will become a propaganda pretext for Poland’s participation in the Ukrainian crisis and sending Polish soldiers to the Ukrainian front.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an allegedly aggressive NATO.
On February 25, 2024, NATO military exercises Dragon-24 started in Poland. This part of the exercise on Polish territory is a key element of the largest NATO exercise since 1988, Steadfast Defender 2024. The military maneuvers are in no way related to the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine. NATO has repeatedly emphasised that the Alliance is not involved in the Russian war and does not intend to send its troops into the territory of Ukraine.
Steadfast Defender is a regular deterrence exercise in which troops from across the Alliance practice defending European NATO allies. The maneuvers were planned long before they began, and information about this was conveyed to other states. No NATO country has ever attacked another state under the guise of military exercises. Russia, on the other hand, used the pretext of conducting military exercises to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
NATO, in light of Russian aggression against Ukraine, has begun developing new defensive plans. Therefore, the exercises involve testing the ability to transfer of forces from North America and other parts of the Alliance to Eastern Europe - with the aim of creating the ability to counter a hypothetical large-scale threat to the Allies. It is emphasised that the exercises are not directed against any country, but are a demonstration of the ability to resist any aggressive policy.
There are no NATO troops in Ukraine. Many nations around the world support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence. A broad coalition of more than 50 countries meet in the 'The Ukraine Defense Contact Group' with Ukraine to coordinate military and other equipment deliveries requested by Kyiv. Sometimes called the Ramstein format, it includes all members of NATO and as well as several other countries from around the world, including from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. The provision of military and financial support for Ukraine is to help it repel Russia's unjustified and unprovoked aggression and restore its sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders of 1991.
See other examples in our database, such as claims that NATO defence efforts are irresponsible and can lead to real warfare, that NATO is practicing for the occupation of Ukraine, that Baltic states are provoking Russia by hosting foreign troops, that NATO is boosting its presence in the Baltic Sea to provoke Russia, and that NATO may invade Russia after the war in Ukraine.