Sweden and Finland rehearse for INVIT during major NATO war games after Putin’s threat to ‘claim back’ territory

news7h06/12/2022

6 3 minutes read

Sweden and Finland rehearse for INVIT during major NATO war games after Putin's threat to 'claim back' territory

Sweden and Finland have joined troops from 14 NATO countries in major war battles amid fears of invasion following Vladimir Putin’s threat to “reclaim” territory.

Some 7,000 troops and 45 ships took part in the drills with the two countries despite chilling warnings from Russia that it could attack areas in “ten seconds”.

Swedish and Finnish armies join Nato countries in war gameCredit: Getty

A seaplane of the Swedish army during a military exercise in the Baltic SeaCredit: Getty

Aviation Boatswains Mate signals to the pilots of the MV-22 Osprey attack support aircraft as it departs from the flight deck of an attack shipCredit: AFP

About 7,000 troops and 45 ships participated in the exerciseCredit: Getty

The training missions included air strikes and landings on Gotland, an island strategically located in the middle of the southern part of the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish armed forces have joined the US military in practicing how to defend an island of 58,000 people – and how to regain it from foreign invaders.

It comes amid rising tensions as Putin’s war in Ukraine flares up and comes just weeks after both Finland and Sweden confirmed they would be applying to join NATO.

Mr Putin tried to rein in the move, warning Finnish President Sauli Niinisto that joining the Western alliance would be a “mistake”.

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Putin makes CHILLING threat to Sweden as he aims to 'take back the land'

Russia, which shares an 830-mile border with Finland, said joining the transatlantic alliance would damage bilateral relations.

Finland has remained militarily unaligned for 75 years, but after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, politics and public opinion changed drastically in favor of membership.

Despite their non-aligned status, the two Nordic countries have regularly practiced with the Nato countries.

As military hardware was deployed on the coast, Swedish Colonel Magnus Frykvall, the island’s regimental commander, said: “I’m feeling really prepared. I mean, we’ve already deployed. launch a massive deployment on Gotland, and we’ll protect Gotland.”

“It’s a really tough mission to capture a protected island.”

It takes place against a backdrop of Russia’s threat to “reclaim” Sweden like Peter the Great did in the 18th century when he created a new Russian Empire.

“You might think he’s going to war with Sweden, taking their land,” Putin said.

“But he took nothing – he reclaimed it. It seems to have fallen into our hands, too, to claim and fortify.”

The Swedish island of Gotland has seen foreign invasions throughout its history – the most recent in 1808 when the Russians briefly occupied it.

But after the end of the Cold War, Sweden felt the danger of Russian invasion was too remote and focused its armed forces on peacekeeping operations abroad rather than defending its territory.

The Gotland Regiment was closed in 2005 due to reduced numbers in Sweden.

Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 led to a rethink and a new regiment was created on Gotland in 2018.

READY TO FIGHT

There are about 400 Swedish soldiers permanently residing on the island. The reinforcements are planned after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But many Gotlanders felt that Sweden would not be able to defend the island on its own.

“If we were invaded, we wouldn’t stand a chance because our defenses are so small,” said Lars Soderdahl, a 33-year-old chef in the island’s main town, Visby.

“We have a really modern and good defense, but it’s too small.”

Meanwhile, Putin has responded to Nato war games by holding massive military exercises in the Baltic Sea.

The Russian dictator has sent 60 warships, 40 aircraft and 2,000 weapons units to sea as the West is straining at his doorstep.

It comes as NATO’s 30 existing members will discuss Finland and Sweden joining the alliance this month amid threats from Russia.

Senior Russian politician Aleksey Zhuravlyov threatened to attack Britain with a Satan-2 hypersonic missile in 200 seconds and wipe out Finland in just 10 seconds.

Zhuravlyov, 59, deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, said in an interview that it was “completely legal” for Russia to “question the existence” of Finland.