Status: 01/22/2022 09:48 a.m
The US has announced major NATO maneuvers in the Mediterranean. According to the US State Department, this has nothing to do with the escalating Ukraine conflict. Meanwhile, Germany said it would send medical supplies to Ukraine
Amid tensions with Russia over the Ukraine crisis, NATO plans to hold a major military exercise in the Mediterranean. The US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman will take part in the naval maneuvers, which are scheduled to take place from Monday, as confirmed by US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby.
The exercise, called Neptune Strike 22, is scheduled to last until February 4th. Kirby stressed that the maneuvers had nothing to do with current fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The exercise is not designed for the kind of scenarios that could play out over Ukraine,” the Pentagon spokesman said.
The maneuver had also been planned for a long time. However, Neptune Strike 22 was not on a list of military exercises planned for 2022 published by NATO in December.
Maneuvers with 10,000 soldiers
Kirby said the maneuver had been put to the test given the current tensions with Russia. Ultimately, however, the NATO partners decided to stick to the maneuver. Russia announced large-scale naval maneuvers in the Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean and Arctic on Thursday.
A total of more than 140 ships and 10,000 soldiers are to take part in the planned exercises. The aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its escort ships have been in the Mediterranean since mid-December. The warship was supposed to be relocated, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin decided to leave it in the Mediterranean to “reassure” Europeans about the conflict with Russia.
US continues to send military aid
The United States had also sent more military aid to Kiev to support Ukraine. A US cargo plane landed at an airport in the capital, as the US embassy there announced in the short message service Twitter.
There were 90 tons of cargo on board, including ammunition “for front-line defense”. This support was ordered by US President Joe Biden. It was the first of several deliveries, it said. This “demonstrates the United States’ strong commitment to Ukraine’s sovereign right to self-defense.”
Scholz does not want to deliver weapons
While Britain and Poland had also pledged arms supplies to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, once again said no to arms deliveries to the crisis region.
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht sees it similarly. The federal government must do everything to de-escalate the crisis. “Weapons deliveries would not be helpful at the moment – that is the consensus in the federal government,” said the SPD politician of the “Welt am Sonntag”.
Germany blocks arms shipments from Estonia
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Germany is also currently blocking an Estonian military shipment to Ukraine. The NATO ally will not be granted permission to send German-made artillery pieces, the newspaper reported, citing Estonian and German authorities.
“Germany is very hesitant to supply us,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov told the newspaper. It also quoted a German government spokesman who referred to the export regulations. There is currently no permit and the outcome of the procedure cannot be estimated. An Estonian government adviser expressed hope that approval would still be obtained.
Lambrecht wants to send field hospital
Instead of weapons, Germany wants to deliver medical goods. In February, “a complete field hospital will be handed over, including the necessary training, all co-financed by Germany with 5.3 million euros,” said Lambrecht. Germany has also already delivered ventilators and is treating seriously injured Ukrainian soldiers in Bundeswehr hospitals.