NATO troops from 14 countries stage a major military exercise in Estonia.

NATO countries started a large-scale military exercise in Estonia on Monday, a long-planned drill made more significant by the country’s proximity to Russia and because of the participation of Finland and Sweden, two countries seeking to join the alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The drill, called Hedgehog, is one of the largest in Estonia since it became independent in 1991. It involves 15,000 personnel from 14 countries and the U.S. Navy Wasp-class landing ship Kearsarge, according to a statement from NATO.

A NATO spokesman, Matthias Eichenlaub, confirmed that Finland and Sweden were participating and said that Estonia was taking a lead in the exercise. A spokeswoman for Estonia’s defense ministry, Eleka Rugam-Rebane, said the exercise was “technically a multinational exercise run by Estonia, but with many NATO countries taking part.” Read more

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