LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th March, 2022) NATO ships have delivered military vehicles and equipment to Estonia to support the UK-led battlegroup in the country, the British Defense Ministry informs.
"Royal Navy vessels have joined ships, aircraft and personnel from six Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) nations to provide support to NATO and bolster security in the Baltic Sea," the ministry said in a Monday statement.
According to the release, HMS Northumberland and HMS Richmond have joined Danish frigate HDMS Niels Juel and warships from Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
"JEF naval vessels escorted Danish and British supply ships as they delivered military vehicles and equipment to resupply the UK-led NATO Battlegroup in Estonia, where troops from the UK and Denmark are serving side by side," the British defense ministry said.
In addition to delivering supplies, NATO warships conducted a series of joint exercises.
"Given the current level of aggression being displayed by Russia, there has never been a more important time to ensure that freedom of navigation is maintained in the Baltic Sea," Maj. Gen. Jim Morris DSO, the Commander of the UK Standing Joint Force HQ (SJFHQ) which leads the JEF, said as quoted in the defense ministry's release.
The United Kingdom has doubled the number of troops in Estonia since the launch of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
Former Macedonian diplomat Risto Nikovski told Sputnik last week that the NATO expansion policy that the late Madeleine Albright pursued as the Clinton administration's top diplomat fueled Russian security concerns to a level that forced Moscow to take defensive measures, which helped lead to the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of February 24. The move came after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kiev forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted - the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
