One of the largest exercises ever conducted by NATO in the history of the Baltic States is underway. The maneuver, codenamed Hedgehog – literally “hedgehog” in English – is scheduled to begin today, which will take place in Estonia over the next two weeks and will involve around 15,000 troops from ten countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and the current non-members Finland and Sweden applying to join the Atlantic Alliance.
“Hedgehog”: the exercise Born today in Estonia
These are large-scale NATO exercises planned a few months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which take place at a time of sharply rising tensions between NATO and Moscow and are of symbolic and strategic importance for the Baltic States because they are aimed to test their ability to respond to enemy attacks. Now that tensions in the heart of Europe are at alert levels, the hedgehog exercise can be seen as a muscle test for the North Atlantic Treaty military organization.
Operations Defender Europe and Swift Response, involving 18,000 soldiers from twenty countries, are also planned and will take place in Poland and eight other countries. In addition, three thousand units of allied troops will be involved in another exercise codenamed “Iron Wolf” in Lithuania.
Meanwhile, Helsinki, Finland, officially announced its intention to apply to join NATO, news welcomed by the Alliance’s foreign ministers in Berlin. Tuesday, May 17, then in Stockholm, Sweden, where the Social Democrats in government have lifted their veto on their country’s candidacy after decades of resistance.