On Monday, 19 August, a ceremony will take place at the military base “Ādaži” to highlight the integration of the Royal Danish Armed Forces Battalion within the NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia. The ceremony will be attended by Major General Jette Albinus, Commander of the NATO’s Multinational Division “North” Headquarters, Colonel Cédric Aspirault, Commander of the NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Nyholm Jørgensen, Commander of the Danish Battalion. National Armed Forces will be represented by Brigadier General Kaspars Zdanovskis. The Danish contingent in Latvia will be comprised of up to 800 soldiers. The Danish contingent is planned to serve alternately with the Swedish contingent in Latvia. The Royal Danish Armed Forces have already been deployed to the military base “Ādaži” in varying numbers. Until now, the Danish contingent was part of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade of the Land Forces, but with the ceremony it will be integrated within the NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia, which in turn is subordinate to NATO’s Multinational Division “North” Headquarters.
“The integration of the Danish battalion will significantly strengthen the NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia, enhancing its ability to respond immediately to any threat. We are grateful for Denmark’s commitment to strengthening Latvia’s defence, demonstrating NATO’s unity and, together with our Armed Forces, ensuring the defence of our country,” underlines Defence Minister Andris Sprūds welcoming the Danish troops to Latvia.
As reported earlier, in July this year, a ceremony was held to highlight the launch of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Latvia Battle Group to brigade level and the establishment of the new NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia which will be comprised of more than 3,500 troops. The brigade is expected to reach full combat readiness by 2026. NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia has Canada as a Framework nation, along with forces of contributing nations: Albania, Czechia, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia adn Spain. Sweden is also expected to join the new NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia.
As reported earlier, in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine, in 2022 parliament of Denmark decided to support the government decision to send 1,000 Danish troops to Latvia. In 2023, Denmark took a decision to deploy a battalion of Danish Royal Army troops to Latvia in 2024 as part of its commitment to continued strengthening of NATO eastern flank defence. Danish soldiers are already serving in NATO’s Multinational Division “North” Headquarters in the military base “Ādaži”. Denmark has played an important role in the development of the Latvian National Armed Forces and has been one of the leading Nordic countries in providing political support and practical assistance to Latvia.
