Sweden Launches Largest Military Exercise in 30 Years... Strengthening Deterrence Against Russia

14 Western Countries, Over 26,000 Participants

Sweden, on the verge of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has commenced the largest military exercise with Western countries in 30 years. This move is interpreted as a strong demonstration of its intention to join NATO, alongside applying pressure on Russia. Military tensions between the West and Russia surrounding the Baltic Sea are expected to escalate further.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to Euractiv, a European local media outlet, on the 17th (local time), Sweden began a large-scale military exercise in the central ?stersund region, involving 13 Western countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, and Ukraine. The exercise involves over 26,000 personnel from 14 countries and is scheduled to continue until the 11th of next month.

The Swedish military authorities stated, "This exercise is conducted in the air, on land, and at sea." Euractiv reported that this large-scale exercise, gathering more than 20,000 soldiers in Sweden, is the largest since the Orkan exercise in 1993, approximately 30 years ago.

In particular, this exercise is seen as emphasizing the unity of Western countries to contain Russia, while also reaffirming Sweden's intention to join NATO. With a large participation of NATO countries within Europe, Sweden is expected to solidify its military presence within NATO through this largest-scale military exercise in 30 years.

Last year, Sweden, along with its neighboring country Finland, applied for NATO membership, but due to opposition from T?rkiye and Hungary, the final accession has not yet been approved and the membership proposal remains pending. Inside and outside NATO, there is growing expectation that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an will approve Sweden's accession proposal after winning the presidential election scheduled for next month, and it is anticipated that the membership will be approved before the NATO summit planned for July.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.