NATO conducts exercises on its eastern flank.

According to RIA Novosti on January 13, nine NATO countries will conduct the Steadfast Dart-25 exercise from January 13 to February 26 to test their ability to rapidly deploy forces on the eastern flank “under conflict conditions”.

As previously stated by the Allied Response Force (ARF) command, based in Italy, “the exercise demonstrates NATO’s ability to rapidly deploy forces from Europe to bolster defenses on its eastern flank.”

They explained that the rapid deployment readiness test “will be conducted in a simulated conflict scenario with an adversary of comparable strength.”

Approximately 10,000 military personnel from nine allied nations will participate in the exercise, including air, land, sea, and special forces. The exercise will take place in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.

In recent years, Russia has noted unprecedented NATO activity along its western border. The alliance is expanding its initiatives and calling them "deterrence against Russian aggression." Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the alliance's buildup in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow remains open to dialogue with NATO, but on an equal footing, while the West must abandon its militarization of the continent.

Earlier, on January 12, on social media platform X, Professor Glenn Diesen of the University of Southeastern Norway called on the North Atlantic Alliance to begin negotiations with Russia on a security agreement amid the Russian military's advance into Donetsk.

He wrote: “NATO should begin negotiations with Russia today to sign an agreement on European security based on the bloc’s indivisible principles.”