NATO began large-scale military exercises in the European Arctic on Monday, placing for the first time a particular emphasis on the role of civilian populations in supporting armed forces in the event of conflict.
These maneuvers, dubbed cold-responseThe exercises are taking place from March 9 to 19 in Norway and the surrounding regions. Approximately 25,000 soldiers from 14 member countries of the alliance are participating in this large-scale training.
The exercises are designed to test NATO's ability to defend its territories in the Arctic, a strategic region where several countries in the alliance, including Norway and Finland, share borders with Russia.
This edition places greater emphasis on the preparation of civilian infrastructure and cooperation between military forces and local populations. The objective is to assess how civilian services, transportation, communications, and energy systems could support a military operation under extreme conditions.
The maneuvers take place against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions in the Arctic region. They coincide in particular with diplomatic friction between the United States and Denmark over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory of increasing strategic importance.
Exercise cold-response is now part of the mission Arctic Sentry, a NATO initiative aimed at strengthening its presence and defence capabilities in polar areas in the face of emerging security challenges.
