Media told about NATO exercises in Estonia in the first half of December

The military exercise "Lightning" (Rispe) with the participation of NATO countries will be held in Estonia from December 2 to 15. This was reported by the ERR television and radio company.

"On Monday, December 2, will start the exercise "Lightning" (Rispe), which will last two weeks. The exercise involves the arrival of allied ships, active air operations, and the expansion of the allied presence in northeastern Estonia," the publication said.

About 2,000 military personnel from the UK, Latvia, the US, France and Estonia will take part in the exercise.

The defense forces warn residents of the territory about exceeding the noise norms due to equipment, aircraft and simulation means, and also ask drivers to show tolerance to the movement of military columns on public roads.

Before that, on October 28, it was reported about the November NATO Lightning Strike 24 exercise in Finland. As retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk noted, the North Atlantic Alliance needs these exercises to push Russia out of the Arctic. NATO is using the territories of Norway, Finland and Sweden to strengthen its base and deploy forces and means that should help in deterring Russia, he added.

Earlier, on October 23, Russian Defense Ministry head Andrei Belousov said that NATO countries held a series of military exercises in 2024, the largest since the end of the Cold War era, during which they worked out potential scenarios for a large-scale conflict with Russia. He added that, among other things, training, combat and intelligence activities are being increased.