NATO member Canada deployed two warships to the Baltic Sea and north Atlantic at the end of June to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank.
HMCS Kingston and Summerside will be on a four-month deployment as part of Operation Reassurance, a statement from the Canadian Armed Forces said.
Between July and October, they will participate in naval mine-sweeping exercises and maintain a “high readiness” allowing them to “quickly and effectively respond in support of any NATO operations”.
“Their work will bolster the assurance and deterrence measures under the NATO flag, on behalf of Canada,” said Captain (Navy) Julian Elbourne, Chief of Staff, Maritime Forces Atlantic Command
The vessels replace HMCS Halifax and Montreal which are currently deployed.
NATO allies have increased their presence in the Baltic Sea region after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Canada leads the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battlegroup in Latvia and has been part of Operation Reassurance since 2014. The county has deployed 1,375 members of its armed forces on sea, land and air.
ERR News
