Lauge Risom Koch 
NATO has launched extensive military drills along Russia’s borders, bringing together thousands of troops in one of its largest coordinated exercises in recent years.
According to United24Media, NATO forces have begun a broad series of military exercises stretching from the Baltic region to the Arctic.
United24Media reported that Estonia launched the largest phase of the drills on May 4 through the Spring Storm exercise, which is expected to involve more than 12,000 troops.
Participating nations include the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, Canada, the Netherlands and several Nordic and Baltic countries.
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Combat training
The exercises are focused on large-scale warfare scenarios, including rapid troop deployment, battlefield coordination and lessons drawn from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Additional drills are also taking place in Lithuania, Poland and Finland, including operations near the Russian border.
Russia has criticised the exercises, accusing NATO countries of rehearsing scenarios linked to Kaliningrad and increasing military pressure in the region.
Earlier exercises
Earlier this year, NATO launched Steadfast Dart 2026, described by Allied Command Operations as the alliance’s largest military exercise of the year.
The drills began on January 15 across Central Europe and marked the first operational deployment of the Allied Reaction Force under Joint Force Command Brunssum.
Multinational force
Around 10,000 troops from 11 countries took part, including forces from Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and Türkiye, alongside personnel from Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.
The exercise focused on testing NATO’s ability to rapidly coordinate multinational forces across land, air, maritime, cyber, space and special operations environments.
Sources: United24Media, Estonian Foreign Ministry, Keskisuomalainen, NATO
