A US ship carrying around 600 pieces of military equipment has docked in Denmark as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which aims to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank and increase the coalition’s military readiness, the Danish Army said on Monday.
The transport ship arrived at Denmark’s largest commercial port in Aarhus city and included armored military vehicles destined to be taken to Poland.
“We have never experienced receiving a military ship before. This is the first time that we have been chosen as a transit port for the US military. That’s why today is something special,” Daniel Moller Jensen, the port’s press spokesperson, told the media.
“As Denmark’s largest commercial port, we have good conditions and infrastructure to handle such large operations,” he said.
The city’s mayor, who was overviewing the unloading of the military gear, considered it his country’s “obligation to take responsibility for its own safety,” describing it a “necessary contribution”.
Operation Atlantic Resolve was launched in 2014 and refers to military activities in response to increased tensions with Russia.
Last September, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is building its presence in the eastern flank, putting hundreds of thousands of troops on high readiness.
“We are significantly enhancing our presence in the east of the alliance, putting hundreds of thousands of troops on high readiness, supported with significant air and naval forces,” Stoltenberg told reporters then.
The US build-up in eastern Europe has exponentially increased in the past year as western countries claim they are strengthening their deterrence posture facing Russia’s military.
