More than a third of NATO's military force takes part in exercise in northern Germany, AP explains

Описание: (19 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bergen Military Training Grounds, Lohheide, Germany - 19 February 2026
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Carlson, The Associated Press:
“More than a third of NATO's militaries are practicing a training exercise called Steadfast Dart 26. We're standing at the Bergen Military Training Grounds in northern Germany, where we'll see the Air Force and armies run a drill to show that they can remove a fictional enemy from inside NATO territory. The reason why exercises like this are important is because NATO is actually a political agreement. It states, all members of the Alliance will come to the assistance of each other. In reality, it's built up of individual militaries. Now, those militaries need to practice together. They need to know that they can communicate with a common language and use each other's national military equipment to achieve a common goal.”
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STORYLINE:
More than a dozen nations have mobilized thousands of troops, several warships and aircraft on Thursday as NATO’s high readiness spearhead force is deployed across Europe for the first time.

Many gathered in northern Germany to showcase Steadfast Dart - NATO’s biggest drills of 2026.

The exercises are taking place as Russia’s so-called military operation in Ukraine nears its fourth anniversary.

Nearly 10,000 military personnel have been mobilized from 13 nations.

Participants include Italy, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Lithuania, Estonia and Turkey, with support from France, Belgium, Poland, the UK and the Netherlands.

AP video by Mark Carlson

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