A helicopter hovers above the deck of a ship. Three soldiers are in position below the aircraft to carry out a helihoisting exercise. In the background, we see the partially cloudy sky and the orange sun beginning to set over the greyish-purple sea.

OP REASSURANCE

A shock wave swept over Central and Eastern Europe when Russia annexed Crimea in February of 2014. Neighbouring areas feared that they would be invaded next. They were able to count on the support of their allies, the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) nations, which decided to send military personnel as support. Canada deployed the 425 Alouette Squadron Bagotville CF-18 Hornets to Romania to protect the airspace from enemy intrusion. Three years later, NATO was concerned that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania could be quickly invaded by Russian forces. To reassure these countries, Canadian fighters flew over these areas with the goal to eliminate any threat.

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