Sending A Message

"The best way to prevent a miscalculation on the part of Vladimir Putin is through a posture of strength and deterrence."
"Vladimir Putin responds very aggressively to what the thinks is weakness or uncertainty. That is why these kinds of operations are important, not just for sending political and diplomatic signals, but also military. The signal that we are collectively sending to Moscow is that it should not even think about replaying policy of aggression, de facto invasions and destabilization that we have seen in Ukraine, Moldova and elsewhere."
"Romania is a sovereign, free nation. It isn't a Russian satellite state It is a member of the NATO alliance, and they've invited us to participate [in war exercises]."
Defence Minister Jason Kenney, Canada

DND Handout  Captain John Hart, Land Task Force Deputy Commander and Romanian members of the observer controller team, listen to orders during Operation Reassurance.

"Large manoeuvres of the U.S. Army and NATO in Romania. Direct target: Russia! Note the American flags alongside Romanian flags on the tanks of the Romanian Army."
"Decidedly Atlanticist politicians of Bucharest, from German-Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to social democratic Prime Minister Ponta, are all in political prostitution to Americans."
PCN-TV

DND Handout   A Romanian member of the Observer Controller Team watches Canadian soldiers as they move into position during Operation Reassurance.

Russian Television hosted raw video footage of an American army convoy trundling along Romanian roads, and the statement above accompanied that footage. Present in Romania also are infantrymen from the Petawawa-based Royal Canadian Regiment dressed in combat camouflage and exchanging fire with a Romanian heavy machine-gun mounted on an armoured personnel carrier dating from the Soviet era. Above, U.S. army Black Hawk helicopters patrol nearby.

War games to mimic a Russian aggression on the edge of the Transylvanian Alps, in attacking a Romanian position, features a platoon from the Royal Canadian Regiment. Canadian military members have a presence in eastern Europe that dates from the Russian invasion of Crimea last March. When Moscow sent across the border into Ukraine spies, soldiers, weapons and tanks in assistance of ethnic-Russian Ukrainian separatist forces seizing parts of eastern Ukraine.

Since last July, roughly 200 Canadian soldiers have been present in eastern Europe, helping to conduct joint exercises in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, the Baltic States most concerned about their sovereignty in the face of renewed Russian aggression. In May they left Glebokie, Poland, heading to eastern Romania, trekking for three days over 1,721 kilometres where they established a tent camp they named after Sgt.Andrew Doiron, killed in Iraq in a friendly fire incident in March.

Canadian Joint Operations Command has drawn the appreciation of Romania, even while Russia is not quite appreciative of the Canadian presence in its near geography. In fact Russia complained about the Romanian exercise, even though the thousand allied troops training with the Canadian infantry are situated roughly 500 kilometres from the closest border with Russia.

Meanwhile Russia has moved artillery and tanks, along with rockets and anti-aircraft guns into eastern Ukraine. Just being good neighbours, concerned about relations between ethnic Russians  who have been oppressed and disentitled by the Ukrainian government for far too long. A contention that makes Latvia, Estonia and Romania extremely sensitive to their own ethnic Russian populations to whom they must be very polite lest news reach Vladimir Putin of their plight.

DND Handout   Canadian soldiers react to an ambush during Operation Reassurance.