NATO sends counter-hybrid team to Montenegro due to Russia's hybrid threats

SARAJEVO/PODGORICA, (Patria) - Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Marshal Stuart Peach, said that the Alliance is directly facing Russian hybrid attack attempts, which is why, as he said, they have decided to send a team to combat hybrid threats to Montenegro.

At the NATO Military Committee session, which concluded yesterday in Brussels, he stated that the Alliance, wishing to counter such Russian actions, has deployed the first NATO counter-hybrid team to Montenegro, Pentagon reports, as written by Montenegro's Pobjeda.

"The first NATO counter-hybrid support team has been deployed to allied Montenegro, with the aim of helping to strengthen the country's capabilities and deter hybrid challenges," Peach said.

He added that defense spending continues to increase.

"NATO data shows an increase of 4.6 percent in 2019. This is the fifth consecutive year of such growth. By the end of this year, allies will invest more than 130 billion dollars," Peach said, adding that they expect this amount to reach 400 billion dollars by 2024.

US General Mark Milley, the highest-ranking military officer in the country and chief military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and the US National Security Council, assessed at the same session that "it has been evident for a long time that Russia wants to divide NATO and make it weaker, if not destroy it.".

"That would benefit them. It is detrimental to Europe and the United States if NATO were to simply collapse and fall apart," Milley said.

The Montenegrin Ministry of Defense recently stated that the first NATO counter-hybrid support team visited Montenegro from November 21 to 27 last year, and the upcoming parliamentary elections were, they say, the main reasons for the engagement of the NATO team.

"The goal of the visit was to strengthen capacities in deterrence and adequate response to hybrid challenges. This visit was the first engagement of such a team in one of the allies, and as such, it represents a significant experience for both Montenegro and the Alliance itself. Regarding hybrid activities, Montenegro wants to strengthen its capabilities in areas related to resilience, crisis management, critical infrastructure, strategic communication, and analysis. The focus of the NATO team's visit, in addition to establishing cooperation with the intergovernmental commission, was also on strengthening the legislative framework in this area and its implementation," Ivica Ivanović, Director General for Defense Policy, told Pobjeda.