The UK government has reaffirmed its commitment to NATO’s collective defence measures, describing the alliance’s participation in military exercises like Steadfast Dart 25 as “defensive, transparent and proportionate” amid concerns from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn about potential escalation of tensions in Eastern Europe.
JeCorbyn, Independent MP for Islington North, raised the issue during a parliamentary session on 5 February 2025, asking whether UK participation in Steadfast Dart could exacerbate tensions in the region.
Luke Pollard, Armed Forces Minister, responded by pointing out that the exercise is part of NATO’s strategy to ensure readiness and deterrence in response to the ongoing security challenges, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“In an unpredictable security environment, exacerbated by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, we must remain ready to deter all threats and to defend all Allies,” Pollard stated. “Exercises like Steadfast Dart enhance our collective defence and deterrence, and are planned and publicised well in advance.”
Pollard underscored that NATO operations remain within international legal frameworks. He highlighted NATO’s adherence to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Vienna Document, which requires member nations to notify others of large military exercises and troop movements to ensure transparency and reduce the risk of misunderstandings.
“NATO’s actions are defensive, transparent and proportionate. NATO and Allies fully respect our international obligations and abide by both the letter and the spirit of the OSCE’s Vienna Document on military transparency,” he said.
Exercise Steadfast Dart is part of a series of multinational training exercises designed to enhance the interoperability and rapid deployment capabilities of NATO forces. It involves simulated scenarios aimed at improving joint response measures to potential security threats across Europe.
The exercise comes amid heightened concerns over Russian aggression, as the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to influence regional security dynamics. The UK’s participation in such exercises reflects its commitment to NATO’s principle of collective defence, enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
While critics, including Corbyn, have raised concerns about the potential for military drills to provoke further tensions, the government maintains that such exercises are a necessary component of ensuring peace and stability in the region.
At the UK Defence Journal, we aim to deliver accurate and timely news on defence matters. We rely on the support of readers like you to maintain our independence and high-quality journalism. Please consider making a one-off donation to help us continue our work. Click here to donate. Thank you for your support!
And some people seriously voted for this man to be PM?
Bullet dodged.
He is a marxist, most journalists and an important number of administrators and teachers at universities are marxist or marxists adjacent…
I work at a university and I haven’t met a single marxist here. I think that’s quite exaggerated.
Journalists? Are you serious? Have you read any of the main strean media recently, they are all extremely right wing. They are constantly writing stories to make people believe laws to protect their rights and freedom are a bad thing and starting culture wars.
You don’t know what a Marxist is do you?
People are currently voting for farage which has a history of being paid by Russian backers, plus supports trump US first approach which clearly means UK loses out. Has multiple times this year talked about scrapping the NHS in favour of a US system which is very expensive, oh and voted to block the workers right bill. All of which is anti working class and yet its the working class that vote for him. Unfortunately the average voters aren’t interested enough in polictics to fully understand who they vote for.
Farages Immigration policies alone will win a lot of votes, as it did with Trump. The mainstream parties are dangerously out of touch with the level of anger so many regular people have.
Reform is a one-trick pony.
Stop immigration. That’s all they care about.
They have no plans for the NHS, for pensions, for defence, education or infrastructure.
Anger can only take you so far. If anger wins then we vote in a fuckwit like Trump who’ll run this country into the ground.
You may think it may be a one trick pony, but with the previous clowns we had in charge, and now the B team 6th form economic incompetents we have running our current Government, that one trick pony may force the established parties to maybe make an effort at listening to the majority of the electorate and taking their wishes and requitements on board, through fear alone. Do you really think 5 years with a “fuckwit” in charge could be much worse than we have got now and had previously!
Voting opinion polls says that the average person isn’t that interested in immigration. It’s just being used to hide his more extreme views. They are riding high because people don’t trust the tories after the mess they created and also don’t trust Labour because the media is very anti everything they do. If Labour delivers and people’s living standards improve and the NHS improves reform will vanish.
I do think we need reform in our polictical parties so they better represent the voters, but that seems unlikely.
Maybe crowdfund a one way ticket to Moscow. Good riddance.
Why is someone so obviously anti British getting any serious air time? this is a man who counts designated terrorists as personal friends.
What about Farage? He has publicly stated he agrees with trump approach which include trade tarrifs against the UK. Just look at the president of the farmers union comment about him and how his approach would kill British farming.
Reality is people vote for the extremes when they don’t trust the normal parties or don’t have another option. It’s on labour to deliver, and if they do then the likes of farage will return to the grifting elsewhere.
Labour could not deliver an Amazon parcel mate, so its understandable that many vote for a change from the established shite norm.
I don’t know during their last term we had sustained increase in wages in real-terms, lower NHS waiting times. Higher % of gdp on defense. That all went south when the tories got in and well before covid etc. Their record states they deliver, so let’s see.
He can borrow one of Putin’s military camels to ride to Moscow.
There was a lot to like about Corbyn. Sadly his willingness to wave a white flag and surrender to any possible confrontation made him unelectable.
What exactly is there to like about him?
I can’t think of a single thing.
A lot of his proposed policies were aimed at improving workers rights and conditions. As a worker i like those. He was also heavily into investing in the NHS and other core public services, again a posting and protecting people at the bottom of the wealth spectrum and taxing those at the top.
His views weren’t all negative. But agree better with him out of the picture.
I agree with those things as well. Though they were far overshadowed by his awful posture on foreign policy and defence.
His question seems “harmless” enough, his motivations less so. Still haven’t forgotten Lavrov’s insistence that Putin had no intentions of invading Ukraine, the lie written all over his face. Putin can reduce tension this minute by withdrawing out of Ukraine. We can’t prepare enough as far as I’m concerned, including easing our collective dependence on an increasingly unpredictable USA. The UK and Europe must evolve into a position where both Putin and Trump take our politco, military industrial position seriously, starting with our contribution to NATO.
Trump will lose against the EU, he did last time and he will again. We just have to hope that we don’t get hit in the cross fire.
I think we should side with the EU in this. Much better allies to have than the increasingly unreliable US.
The EU will protect it’s members, the US will protect itself. Not sure aligning with either side is a good move as it just means the other will retaliate against us and we don’t have the economic power of either side to fight back.
Ah Corbyn, the useful fool raises his head again. He must be having a few days off supporting Hamas and other terrorist organisations, to whine about this subject. Not to worry, I’m sure next Saturday he will be on the next terrorist party march in London with his antisemitic lizards, and we wont hear from him for a few weeks.
The last few cheques from the Kremlin probably haven’t cleared, but Corbyn is still doing his bit for them.
The enemy within.
The choice was him or Bojo. I voted Bojo.
Whether people want to believe it or not, there is a major crisis in the UK, as well as other European countries with regard to immigration. Reform, is making a big deal out of it, and rightly so.
Whether Reform are a ‘one trick pony’ or not, is yet to be seen. For me my main hope is to demonstrate to the ‘political classes’, that the way the UK is governed is broken, and needs a complete overhaul. That… is the message that I am more interested in. So if it takes ‘Nige’ to bring this matter to the fore, and gets those in power thinking as to how we do things, then its a yes from me.
It’s a crisis because the last government stopped applications being processed resulting in a massive backlog. It’s proven on every economic factor that migratants add to the economy way more than locals and is essential for continual growth of an aging population. It’s not a crisis, it’s a drama made up by parties with no serious policies, in the usual approach of culture wars / blame others.