Large-scale NATO exercises started in Estonia on May 16 and will last until June 3. Their holding was planned even before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. This was reported by the Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
The exercises in Estonia are codenamed Ezh-2022 (Siil 2022). Such military exercises will take place in the country for the 20th time.
They will be attended by 15,000 soldiers from 14 countries, including 7,000 reservists from Estonia.
It is known that American, British, and Polish missile systems will be involved in the maneuvers. The geography of the exercises will cover the territory from the Danish island of Bornholm to the northern part of Latvia through the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
The current NATO exercise in Estonia will be one of the largest in the country since 1991.
NATO will also conduct Defender of Europe and Rapid Response training in Poland and eight other countries. 18,000 military personnel from 20 countries will be involved.
Lithuania will host exercises called the Iron Wolf, which will involve 3,000 military and 1,000 pieces of equipment, including German Leopard 2 tanks.
In early May, the largest exercises of special forces of NATO member countries started in Europe. More than 3.3 thousand participants from 30 countries of the world took part in them. Compared to previous years, in 2022, the size of the exercises will be twice as large.
Source: ERR