The Command Task Force Baltic (CTF Baltic) center is based in the northeastern German port city of Rostock.
Twelve NATO countries are involved in the project: Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the U.K.
The new command is not a direct answer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but during the opening ceremony, Pistorious referred to the potential threat posed by Moscow.
CTF Baltic will play “a decisive role in the protection of NATO countries' interests from aggression, particularly in the light of Russia’s proximity,” Pistorius said, cited by German public broadcaster ARD.
According to the German defense minister, more than two-and-a-half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has become clear that Vladimir Putin is not targeting just one country.
He said: “His actual enemy is our free, independent and democratic way of life.”
Pistorious added that security in the Baltic region is inextricably connected to the security of Europe as a whole.
