NATO forces carried out tactical firing practice AMBER LYNX 23 at a proving ground in Orzysz, northeast Poland. "What we’ve seen in the last year is that collective defence works," said U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski. Germany's Ambassador to Poland assured that "Poland’s security is also our security".
A tactical and live fire exercise will took place at a proving ground in Orzysz, as part of the AMBER LYNX – 23 practice. The drill focused at demonstrating the Alliance's readiness to defend NATO's eastern flank. Hundreds of soldiers and several dozen vehicles from six NATO member countries will take part in the exercise.
It was a dynamic demonstration of fire capabilities, cohesion of the Alliance countries and interoperability at the tactical level, presented by the 15th Mechanized Brigade in cooperation with battlegroups, which, as part of NATO's enhanced forward presence on the Alliance's eastern flank, are stationed in Lithuania and Poland.
"Collective defence works"
The drills were carried out in the presence of U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, German Ambassador to Poland Thomas Bagger, Commander Multinational Corps Northeast Lieutenant General Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart, and Multinational Division North East Commander Major General Zenon Brzuszko.
Ambassador Brzezinski said that "what we’ve seen in the last year is that collective defence works". "All for one, and one for all. My first visit to Poland was 30 years ago, when I was here on Fulbright scholarship – you could still hear the Soviet troops in Kraków on their morning jogs, singing their songs," he added.
"And to come so close to the Suwałki Gap to see six coutries from NATO collaborating here in this exercise is an absolute example of progress. Of progress in Central Europe, and now with the Ukraine crisis, in terms of progress in collective defence," Brzezinski stressed.
Bagger: Poland’s security is also our security
Germany's Ambassador to Poland said that "Russia’s war against Ukraine has dramatically changed Europe’s security situation". "Poland is a frontline state of NATO. The U.S. is an indispensable ally and security provider for Europe."
"And Germany, with its Zeitenwende (The Zeitenwende address was delivered by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Feb. 27, 2022, in reaction to Russia’s invasion into Ukraine – edit.) is investing more in its strength, also its military strength, and investing in defence and deterrence also of our allies in Lithuania, where Germany leads NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, but also here in Poland," he added.
"And I think that is the message of today’s exercise. Poland’s security is also our security, and it is the unity of alliance that is our strength. So my thanks go to all the soldiers, all the nations of the alliance that have shown and demonstrated this resolve and this readiness here today, that will make us strong also in the future," ambassador Bagger stressed.
Suwałki Gap
The Suwałki Gap is an approx. 100-kilometres-long border area between Poland and Lithuania, which is squeezed between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the west, and Belarus to the east. The strategic importance of the corridor is that it is the only land passage between the Baltic States and Poland, and consequently the rest of European their NATO allies.
Quoting Western military planners, Politico wrote in 2022 that in case of confrontation between Russia and NATO, "the 'Suwałki Gap' would likely be the first point of contact".
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24