NATO's Strategic Shift in Eastern Europe: Steadfast Dart 2025

NATO is conducting the Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises without direct US assistance, focusing on deploying forces quickly across Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece amid heightened tensions with Russia. This large-scale operation involves 10,000 troops, underscores NATO's strategic evolution, and highlights Europe's move towards greater military self-sufficiency.

NATO is making significant efforts to test its rapid deployment capabilities across eastern Europe, notably without direct assistance from the United States. This comes as Washington adapts its European defense strategy while the Ukraine war nears its three-year anniversary.

The six-week Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises, held in Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, represent the largest NATO operation this year, involving 10,000 troops from nine nations. These exercises occur as European countries aim to achieve greater military autonomy amid concerns over the Trump administration's NATO commitment.

The exercises demonstrate NATO's evolving strategy to reinforce its eastern flank. Key countries like Britain play a leading role, illustrating their ongoing commitment to the alliance as they focus on rapid deployment, combining conventional, cyber, and space-based technologies.

(With inputs from agencies.)