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Just before NATO summit, Russia executed a mock special forces raid on Baltic island
Found this article thanks to a tweet from Alec Luhn, Moscow correspondent for the Telegraph:
Link to tweet
The day before Trump's meeting with NATO, Russian special forces staged a mock invasion on an island between Finland and Estonia
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22075/russia-executes-mock-special-operations-raid-on-remote-island-off-finland
As the solidarity of NATO is tested due to rising tensions between some of its member states and the Trump administration, and just days before a highly anticipated, and in some cases highly maligned, meeting between Trump and Putin in Finland, Russia has executed a mock raid on a strategic island it controls in the Baltic Sea.
Gogland Island sits smack-dab in the center of Gulf of Finland, which is bordered by Russia to the east, Finland to the north, and Estonia to the south. The eight square mile island is considered a 'border area' by Moscow and foreigners can only travel there with special permits. It has long been a military stronghold and is dotted with abandoned military infrastructure from the Cold War. The island is known for its rugged and varied terrain, but these days, besides a communications tower, some lighthouses, a shipwreck, and a small fishing village, there isn't much there. Its standing population is measured in the dozens of people at any given time, although all this could change during a conflict.
When it comes to the region surrounding the island, suffice it to say that it has become a major hotspot in the last four years following Russia's seizure of Crimea and a far more aggressive foreign policy in general. Since then, the Baltic Sea has seen everything from a nuclear ballistic submarine wade through its waters to near constant large-scale military exercises. Just recently, BALTOPS, one of region's largest combined arms drills, wrapped up—a NATO and U.S.-centric training event, like many others, that Russia generally despises.
But Russia also executes its own drills and makes its presence abundantly clear to U.S. and allied aircraft and ships operating in the region. Its exercises include lightning-fast large-scale military buildups along its western borders and electronic warfare tactics that can blot out GPS and even attacks on individual phones of NATO soldiers. Mock attacks by Russian aircraft on critical monitoring outposts have also become common.
But yesterday's unprecedented display of Russian special operations capabilities was uniquely ominous as it is likely how a war would begin in the region—with commandos infiltrating the edges of its neighbor's territories and blowing up or otherwise disabling key early warning stations, communications relays, and other critical infrastructure ahead of a larger military push. This is often referred to as 'poking out the eyes of the enemy.' And that is precisely what Russian commandoes simulated during the operation.
-snip-
Gogland Island sits smack-dab in the center of Gulf of Finland, which is bordered by Russia to the east, Finland to the north, and Estonia to the south. The eight square mile island is considered a 'border area' by Moscow and foreigners can only travel there with special permits. It has long been a military stronghold and is dotted with abandoned military infrastructure from the Cold War. The island is known for its rugged and varied terrain, but these days, besides a communications tower, some lighthouses, a shipwreck, and a small fishing village, there isn't much there. Its standing population is measured in the dozens of people at any given time, although all this could change during a conflict.
When it comes to the region surrounding the island, suffice it to say that it has become a major hotspot in the last four years following Russia's seizure of Crimea and a far more aggressive foreign policy in general. Since then, the Baltic Sea has seen everything from a nuclear ballistic submarine wade through its waters to near constant large-scale military exercises. Just recently, BALTOPS, one of region's largest combined arms drills, wrapped up—a NATO and U.S.-centric training event, like many others, that Russia generally despises.
But Russia also executes its own drills and makes its presence abundantly clear to U.S. and allied aircraft and ships operating in the region. Its exercises include lightning-fast large-scale military buildups along its western borders and electronic warfare tactics that can blot out GPS and even attacks on individual phones of NATO soldiers. Mock attacks by Russian aircraft on critical monitoring outposts have also become common.
But yesterday's unprecedented display of Russian special operations capabilities was uniquely ominous as it is likely how a war would begin in the region—with commandos infiltrating the edges of its neighbor's territories and blowing up or otherwise disabling key early warning stations, communications relays, and other critical infrastructure ahead of a larger military push. This is often referred to as 'poking out the eyes of the enemy.' And that is precisely what Russian commandoes simulated during the operation.
-snip-
And Trump made it clear just today that he won't rule out ceasing NATO military exercises in the Baltic States if Putin requests it:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142108022
5 replies
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I HATE HIM!!!!!!
