The military alliance has continued to strengthen since the invasion of Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has awakened this institution, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary at the Washington summit. Nearly 100,000 soldiers are currently stationed on the eastern flank.

The 32 member countries of NATO are meeting from Wednesday, July 10 in Washington. The organization is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Five years ago, Emmanuel Macron said of NATO that the alliance was in “brain dead state”. Donald Trump called it obsolete, but the war in Ukraine changed everything. It is one of the oldest military alliances in the world. In fact, it is the only one left from the Cold War era, after the implosion of the USSR, even though NATO had gradually reduced its activities.

In 2014, Russia’s invasion of Crimea reawakened the old institution. A first warning signal. And, in 2022, the invasion of Ukraine marked a real shift with the resumption of the arms race, for new battalions. Whether from the Arctic to the Black Sea, on its eastern flank, facing Russia, NATO has continued to build up its strength since then. Nearly 100,000 soldiers are currently stationed along this virtual border. This is certainly three times fewer than in the darkest hours of the Cold War, but this figure continues to increase.

Two new countries, Finland and Sweden, have also swelled its ranks. Two memberships that have been much talked about, even if NATO’s rise in power over the last two years has been rather unnoticed. The construction of new bases all over the world should make it possible to permanently pre-position men and equipment in order to be able to move more quickly. This is the case in Romania, which has become one of the Alliance’s main pivots in the war in Ukraine. The Baltic States, Poland and Finland, are the most worried; they fear a land invasion and are considering building bunkers along their borders. The Baltic Sea is becoming more strategic than ever.

Russia is the only one of its 10 coastal countries not to be part of NATO. The alliance is now increasing its exercises there. So, they bring out the boats, the planes, they simulate scenarios. A huge theater that serves to show off its muscles, to show Moscow what NATO can do. Because within NATO, the general staffs are sure: Russia will not stop there!