ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The armed forces of three NATO members carried out a large-scale exercise in the Lithuanian city of Pabrade on Wednesday as part of a four-month show of power by the military alliance. Grand Quadriga 2024 was the name of the exercise carried out jointly by Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and the Franco-German Brigade in Pabrade. It is part of NATO's military exercise Steadfast Defender 2024, carried out by over 90,000 military personnel from the 32 member states. “Quadriga is Germany’s share in the military exercise. It is NATO's biggest military exercise since 1988, when the Cold War ended. Quadriga is our share and it is a collective response to the dramatic attacks by Russia,” General Carsten Breuer of the German Armed Forces said during the event. “But here in Pabrade, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s authority is only 15 kilometres away from us and behind there is the border of Belarus. Here, the Germany army will be committed to the promise it made to protect every centimetre of NATO borders,” he added. Chief of Defence of Lithuania General Valdemaras Rupsys said their army does not talk a lot but “makes decisive actions, as we evidenced since joining NATO.” “The exercise is strategically located in several key European countries, including Finland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Events will take place from the end of January to May 31, 2024, divided into two parts,” NATO said in a statement on January 26. “NATO exercises, especially on this scale, are planned years in advance and use a fictitious scenario aimed at enhancing the Alliance’s collective defence. Exercises serve the dual purpose of refining defence plans as well as acting as a deterrent against potential aggression from near-peer adversaries,” added the statement. A Rudaw Media Network team was invited to the military exercise in Pabrade. Zinar Shino contributed to this article.
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