Canada deploys warships to Baltic Sea
NATO member Canada deployed two warships to the Baltic Sea and north Atlantic on Sunday 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 published Sunday 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 the armed forces on sea, land and air.
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Editor: Helen Wright
