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Siil (Hedgehog)

An international military exercise involving 13,000 troops from 16 countries kicked off in Estonia on 02 May 2018 and endrf on May 14. The exercise, dubbed Siil (Hedgehog), is scheduled to last until May 14 and is the largest such drill to be held in the Baltic country since it regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Part of the exercise will be held in neighboring Latvia.

Besides the Estonian military, some 2,000 troops from 15 countries -- the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Georgia -- were set to take part. In addition to the regular military, Estonian reservists, police, and rescue services are also attending the exercise, which will focus on territorial defense and will be held in three separate stages.

Estonia and Latvia border Russia and together with the third Baltic state, Lithuania, were part of the Soviet Union after being annexed by Moscow during World War II. The three, which are now members of NATO and the European Union, have voiced concerns about Moscow's intentions in the region, especially since Russia's seizure and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.

Commander of the EDF Gen. Riho Terras explained that Siil is primarily a territorial defense exercise, in which the volunteers of Defence League play an important role. "At the same time we can't ignore the importance of cooperation between the state and the population to guarantee security. Everyone has their role to play. In today's world security is a matter not only for national defense organizations, but also for internal security authorities as well as the private and public sectors," Terras said. As territorial defense necessarily includes operations on private property, and volunteers will be absent from work for the time of the exercise, Terras also thanked land owners and businesses for their cooperation. "Without their support, carrying out an exercise this size would be impossible," the general said. The main objective of Siil is to practise Estonia's territorial defense both in terms of conventional warfare and other less common environments. The 2018 exercise happened all across Estonia, and in its final phase will concentrate on the south-east as well as northern Latvia. The exercise was divided into three stages. The first, from May 2-4, concentrated on making all participating units battle-ready. In the second phase from May 4-7, cooperation between different units was practised. In the third and final phase from May 8-12, the units carried out simulated combat exercises. While the exercise concentrated on territorial defense, it also included allied naval and air forces. Personnel of 19 NATO allies participated in the exercise. Th 2018 Siil crossed the southern border and partly took place on the territory of Latvia. This is the first time the exercise is extended to locations beyond Estonia's immediate territorial boundaries, ERR's TV news reported. According to Terras, this meant working on Estonia and Latvia's defense cooperation, which has been made one of the exercise's goals as well.