In February, NATO holds its largest military training since Cold War - media

This is reported by dpa, Ukrinform reported.

According to information obtained by dpa on Thursday, the scenario for the Steadfast Defender exercise, which is due to start in Europe in February, is a Russian attack on allied territory that triggers Article 5 of the NATO treaty that enshrines the promise of collective defence.

The focus of the drills will be on alerting and deploying national and multinational land forces in the event of a Russian attack.

Article 5 has been invoked only once, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda on the United States.

The largest post-Cold War NATO exercises were staged in 2018. Those drills, called Trident Juncture, took place largely in Norway and involved some 51,000 soldiers.

As reported, the United Kingdom will send 20,000 troops, warships, and fighter jets to participate in the major NATO exercise Steadfast Defender-24 in Europe, which will take place in the first half of this year.