Canada on Sunday deployed two warships in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, which join two frigates already in the area, to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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The Canadian Navy announced in a press release that HMCS Kingston and Summerside will be deployed for a period of four months as part of “Deterrence Measures in Central and Eastern Europe,” launched after the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia.
It adds that in October the ships will participate in underwater minesweeper exercises and will maintain a “high level of readiness” that will allow them to “respond quickly and effectively in support of any NATO operation”.
HMCS Halifax and Montreal are due to return in July from Operation Reassurance, which is aimed at deterring Russia from interfering in Central and Eastern European countries, which is Canada’s largest manpower-led in Europe in a decade.
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