About 15,000 soldiers from 14 countries, including Finland and Swedenwhich yesterday confirmed their intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – as well as a small delegation from Ukraine, NATO Exercise codenamed “Hedgehog” in Estonia, which will take place just 65 km from the nearest base in Russia.
The exercise will simulate a Russian attack on Estonia and will be one of the largest in the country since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
NATO said the exercise had been planned for some time, but stressed that tensions in the Baltic had escalated dramatically since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
NATO exercise planned
Russia called Finland and Sweden’s intention to join NATO “wrong with far-reaching implications”, while Russian state media threatened last night with the development of additional nuclear weapons in the region. The two Nordic countries participated in NATO exercises before the issue of their membership in NATO was raised and it is believed that their participation in the “Hedgehog” was pre-planned.
In addition to the Hedgehog, other NATO exercises are planned, such as Defender Europe and Swift Response with 18,000 troops from 20 countries, and in Lithuania the Iron Wolf with 3,000 troops from allied countries.
Their goal is to see how a multinational force will react in the event of a surprise attack by Russia.
A “small” number of Georgian troops are also expected to take part in the Russian-led invasion in 2008, in which Moscow still maintains forces in some of its territories. According to the Deputy Commander of the Estonian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Veiko Velo Palm, Russia was not invited this time – as has happened in the past – as an observer in the “Hedgehog” exercise.
“We informed the international community about the exercise, but we did not allow Russian observers,” he said last week.
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