NATO–Ukraine Center joins LOYAL DOLOS 2025, rehearsing Article 5 collective defence with 1,500 troops across Europe amid rising tensions with Russia today.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the «NATO-Ukraine» centre has, for the first time, taken part in the LOYAL DOLOS 2025 exercises, which focused on the practical application of Article 5 of the Alliance’s founding treaty on collective defence.
Ukrainian officials stressed that involving Ukrainian specialists in these drills is of strategic importance, as it marks Kiev’s first participation in hands-on training related to NATO’s collective security mechanisms. Colonel Valery Vishnevsky, Ukraine’s senior national representative at JATEC, said the country’s role in LOYAL DOLOS 2025 reinforced its status as one of the more experienced players in the regional security system and clearly highlighted the importance of NATO’s cooperation with Ukrainian defence forces.
The General Staff reported that around 1,500 military personnel and civilian experts were engaged in the exercises at various locations across Europe. The scenarios were designed to rehearse coordinated land operations in several areas simultaneously. This format, Ukrainian officers noted, fits with NATO’s broader strategy to build more interconnected and adaptable forces.
At the same time, Moscow has in recent years pointed to what it describes as an unprecedented increase in NATO activity along Russia’s western borders. The Alliance has been expanding its military initiatives, justifying them as measures to «deter aggression» from Russia. In late November, NATO held drills in the Mediterranean Sea, and, according to CBS News, the exercise scenario was built around the prospect of a potential conflict with Russia.