Sweden has started its largest military exercise in over 20 years with nearly 20,000 troops drilling on air, land and sea, including a contingent of over 1,000 U.S. soldiers, amid rising military activity in the Baltic Sea region.

The three-week Aurora 17 drill kicked off Monday and will chiefly take place around the strategic Baltic Sea island of Gotland and the regions surrounding Stockholm and Goteborg.

The Swedish military said the exercise by the non-NATO nation is designed "to deter potential attackers, and force them to carefully consider the risks of attacking our country."

Troops from non-NATO Finland will also attend along with NATO soldiers from Denmark, Norway, France, Estonia, Lithuania and the United States.

Russia and its neighbor Belarus are holding a massive joint-military exercise, Zapad 2017, that begins Thursday near the borders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. </s> Sweden has launched its largest military exercise in 23 years, with several NATO countries taking part.The Aurora 17 drills, set to take place over the course of three weeks, involve a scenario in which Stockholm and the crucial island of Gotland are under attack by a foreign military."If you control Gotland, you have control over the sea and the airways towards the Baltic states," Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told the Financial Times on Friday, referring to the island which is located not too far from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.The massive exercise will include 20,000 troops, 90 percent of whom are Swedish. The drills will see almost half of the country's armed forces "on the move," according to an organizing officer cited by Newsweek.Around 2,000 foreign troops are also taking part in the drills, more than 1,400 of whom are from the US, according to Sydöstran newspaper. NATO members Denmark, Estonia, France, Lithuania, and Norway are also participating, as well as non-aligned Finland.Hultqvist says the United States' participation in the drills is a "statement of intent," noting that there is "a need for US presence in this region."According to the Swedish military, the drills are designed "to deter potential attackers, and force them to carefully consider the risks of attacking our country," AP reported."It's about handling the realities of the security situation in our part of Europe. It's an important signal to the Swedish population and also to other countries and partners that we take this security situation seriously," Hultqvist said.It comes after the Swedish Armed Forces wrote in a July statement that "several other countries" had been invited to take part in the drills to enhance "Sweden's defense capability against a larger, sophisticated opponent," in what appeared to be a reference to Russia.Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of US Army forces in Europe, also said in July that "Russia has changed the security environment," adding that the US and its NATO allies "have to react to that," Dagens Nyheter newspaper reported Russia has voiced concern over Sweden joining NATO, with President Vladimir Putin warning in early June that Moscow would be forced to take additional security measures if Stockholm decided to join the alliance."If Sweden joins NATO, that will affect our relations in a negative way," Putin said at the time, adding that Russia would have to react to the decision as if it were "an additional threat."Putin went on to stress that Russia does not pose any threat to Sweden and does not plan to do so in the future.NATO has been staging drills on Russia's doorstep, including large-scale NATO Black Sea drills in Ukraine in July, which involved British and Turkish military vessels. That exercise followed the massive 'Sea Breeze' war games in the same area.In June, 5,300 troops from 10 NATO countries took part in the 'Iron Wolf' military drills in Lithuania, aiming to deter the "Russian threat." Part of the drills took place on a patch of land in the Suwalki Gap, which borders Kaliningrad.Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus are set to begin their Zapad 2017 war games on Thursday, which will involve up to 12,700 troops, 70 aircraft, and nearly 700 land vehicles.NATO has slammed this year's Zapad drills, with Hodges referring to it as a "Trojan horse," and noting suspicions that the war games could be used to move forces and equipment closer to NATO's eastern flank.Both Moscow and Minsk have denied this speculation, saying the drills are purely defensive in nature and pose no threat to any other nation.Moscow has also stressed that the number of forces deployed for the drills will not exceed the limits for mandatory monitoring under the 2011 Vienna document, while Belarus has invited international monitors to observe the active phase of the drills.The latest round of controversy concerning the coming Russia-Belarus drills was last week, when German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen claimed that the Zapad 2017 war games would involve over 100,000 troops.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said it was strange the Germans chose to voice an alleged figure, after they were provided with the real one."The German side has timely received and does have comprehensive information of the concept, defensive nature and true figure of the Russian troops engaged in the Zapad 2017 exercise," the major-general said in the statement on Saturday. </s> Nearly 20,000 Swedish troops are carrying out air, land and sea drills with a contingent of over 1,000 US soldiers, amid rising military activity in the Baltic Sea region. The three-week Aurora 17 drill kicked off on Monday and will chiefly take place around the strategic Baltic Sea island of Gotland and the regions surrounding Stockholm and Goteborg. But the show of military might has rattled Russia, who branded the drills aggressive and said it was not necessary as Russia posed no threat to Sweden. The Swedish military said the exercise by the non-NATO nation is designed "to deter potential attackers, and force them to carefully consider the risks of attacking our country."

The drills are being held amid fears over Russia's military buildup in the region, which also has also seen several reports of airspace violations by Russian military aircraft. Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told the Financial Times: “If you control Gotland, you have control over the sea and the airways towards the Baltic states. “It’s about handling the realities of the security situation in our part of Europe. "It’s an important signal to the Swedish population and also to other countries and partners that we take this security situation seriously.” But Mr Hultqvist made it clear the US participation in the drills is a “statement of intent,” noting there is “a need for US presence in this region.” The war games have also raised the possibility of Sweden joining Nato - which would end more than 100 years of the country not being a part of a military coalition.

The issue will be debated in the country’s 2018 election - if the three centre-right allies get their way, Sweden will join NATO ending more than 100 years of the country being outside a military coalition. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in early June that Moscow would be forced to adopt more security measures if Stockholm joins the alliance. Mr Putin said: “If Sweden joins NATO, that will affect our relations in a negative way." Troops from non-NATO Finland will also attend along with NATO soldiers from Denmark, Norway, France, Estonia, Lithuania and the United States. In a swipe at Russia, the Swedish military said in a statement that several other countries had been invited to take part to back up Sweden’s defence capability against a larger, sophisticated opponent.

Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of US Army forces in Europe said in July: “Russia has changed the security environment.” In recent months, NATO military forces have been deployed into countries bordering Russia after Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. That annexation prompted fears that Russia could be eyeing other ex-Soviet republics, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Russia and its neighbor Belarus are also holding joint military exercises ‘Zapad 2017’ that begin on Thursday. Those exercises have raised concerns among Belarus' beleaguered opposition that Russia could use them to establish a permanent military presence in Belarus, which borders Lithuania and Latvia. </s> COPENHAGEN — A Polish seaman drowned in a harbour in southeastern Sweden where an annual Baltic Sea naval exercise is being held, the Swedish navy said Saturday.

Two Polish seamen fell into the water in Karlskrona late Friday and one of them died, Swedish navy Rear Adm. Jens Nykvist said. Neither was identified and no further details were released.

Sweden’s Blekinge Lans Tidning daily said the other seaman remained hospitalized Saturday. Police said no foul play was suspected.

The seamen were among 5,000 sailors participating in the annual Northern Coasts drill with units from Baltic nations and several NATO countries. This year, Sweden is hosting the naval drill.

The Sept. 8-21 exercise is being staged as non-NATO member Sweden hosts another, larger drill with nearly 20,000 troops from Sweden and several NATO countries. The Aurora 17 drill starts Monday and ends Sept. 29.

The Swedish military said the Aurora 17 exercise was designed “to deter potential attackers, and force them to carefully consider the risks of attacking our country.”

Meanwhile, 25 Swedish and Russian peace activists gathered Saturday on the Finnish archipelago of Aland in the middle of the Baltic Sea to mark their opposition to the Aurora 17 drill.

Politicians and the arms industry “have something to gain from the rattling of arms,” said protester Pelle Sunvission.

The drills are being held amid fears over Russia’s military buildup in the region, which also has also seen several reports of airspace violations by Russian military aircraft.

In recent months, NATO military forces have been deployed into countries bordering Russia after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. That annexation prompted fears that Russia could be eyeing other ex-Soviet republics, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Russia and its neighbour Belarus are also holding joint military exercises that begin Thursday. Those exercises have raised concerns among Belarus’ beleaguered opposition that Russia could use them to establish a permanent military presence in Belarus, which borders Lithuania and Latvia. </s> STOCKHOLM: Sweden is to reintroduce compulsory military service, seven years after abandoning it, to respond to global security challenges including Russia's assertive behaviour in the Baltic Sea region, Stockholm said on Thursday (Mar 2).

"We are in a context where Russia has annexed Crimea," Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told AFP, adding: "They are doing more exercises in our immediate vicinity."

Sweden has had a professional army, staffed by volunteers, since 2010.

"We saw that our units could not be filled on a voluntary basis. A decision had to be taken to complement the (volunteer) system which is why we are reactivating conscription," Hultqvist said.

A non-NATO member, Sweden has not seen armed conflict on its territory in two centuries. It put conscription on hold in 2010 after it was deemed an unsatisfactory way of meeting the needs of a modern army.

In the past two decades the military's budget has been slashed as its mission was revamped to focus more on peacekeeping operations abroad and less on the country's defence.

But in recent years, concerns have risen about Russia's intentions in the region - with alarms bells ringing after Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014, experts noted.

"The new security situation is also a reality, partly in the form of Russian power politics which has long been underestimated and downplayed," Wilhelm Agrell, a security expert at Lund University, told AFP.

Since the winter of 2014, "we've seen Russia as expansive and prepared to use violence to benefit its own interests," Agrell said.

But, "today Sweden has neither the possibility nor the political will to stay away from a conflict" in the Baltic Sea region, he added.

In June 2015, US think tank Cepa published a report claiming Russia had held exercises with 33,000 troops aimed at practising an invasion of Sweden's Baltic Sea island of Gotland, among other sites.

Just three months earlier, the Swedish government had decided to remilitarise Gotland, where the last barracks had been decommissioned in 2005. Around 150 men have been stationed there since September last year.

Russian fears also came to the fore in October 2014, when Sweden launched a massive but unsuccessful hunt for a foreign submarine - suspected to be Russian - in the Stockholm archipelago over an eight-day period.

Sweden first introduced compulsory military service in 1901 but halted it in 2010 and replaced it with a volunteer army. But a military career had little appeal to generations of Swedes who had never set foot inside barracks.

Thursday's decision by the minority Social Democratic-led government means all Swedes - male and female - born in 1999 or later will be eligible for conscription as of Jul 1, 2017.

Mandatory military service, which will last for 11 months, will begin Jan 1, 2018.

As of Jul 1, all Swedes born after 1999 will be contacted and asked to answer a questionnaire. Based on their answers, 13,000 people will be mobilised.

Of those, only 4,000 will be called up each year after Jan 1, 2018. For the first time, conscription will apply to women.

"It's very important to emphasise that military service is for girls and guys," Hultqvist said. "It is important for the military to have a gender equal profile," he added.

The reactivation of conscription is supported by both the government and right-wing opposition.

In 2015, they had already agreed to increase military spending, granting the defence an additional 1.1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) over the period 2016-2020.

On defence issues, Sweden has a close dialogue with neighbouring Finland, which in turn shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia.

Sweden and Finland - the Nordic and Baltic region's only non-aligned countries - have recently stepped up their military cooperation with the US.

That followed an increase in Russian military activity in the region, including several airspace violations and war planes allegedly flying without their identifying transponders.

Russia has repeatedly warned Sweden and Finland against joining NATO, an issue regularly debated in both countries. </s> An upcoming Russian military exercise in Europe is making analysts nervous.

CNN is reporting that the major exercise, called Zapad 2017, will take place in Kaliningrad, which borders Poland, and Belarus which borders both Poland and Ukraine.

“Military analysts see such war games as a possible rehearsal for a Russia-NATO armed conflict as it is taking place very close to an area that analysts consider to be the most likely target of a Russian offensive,” the article states.

There is also concern by NATO that Russia is not being as transparent about the exercise as it should, such as “not allowing observers to monitor the exercise to ensure that it is not a cover for an aggressive military operation,” as required by international treaties, according to CNN.

There is also worry about the true number of participating troops, with the Russians claiming 13,000 and observers saying it could actually be as large as 100,000 Russian and Belorussian forces, according to CNN.

The U.S. is currently participating in a multinational training exercise in Ukraine called Exercise Rapid Trident 17. The Russian exercise will begin just days after it ends on Sept. 23.

The Ukrainian-led annual exercise has 1,800 participating service members from 14 countries, and is “focused on peacekeeping and stability operations,” according to the US Army Europe website on the exercise. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Zapad 2017 joint strategic military exercise started on the territory of Russia and Belarus, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

"The Zapad 2017 joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Union State of Russia and Belarus began on September 14," the ministry said.

Up to 12,700 servicemen (about 7,200 from Belarus, some 5,500 from Russia), up to 70 aircraft and helicopters, up to 680 items of military equipment, including about 250 tanks, up to 200 guns, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, and up to 10 warships take part in the drills.

Several NATO member states and Ukraine have raised concerns about the drills, while the German defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, claimed last week that over 100,000 troops would participate, an allegation refuted by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

According to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg NATO will send three experts exercises, following invitations from Russia and Belarus. Previously, Stoltenberg said that the alliance does not see any imminent threat posed against any NATO member by the drills. However, a number of NATO member states located in eastern Europe, including Poland and Lithuania, as well as Ukraine, have already expressed their concerns over the upcoming Russia-Belarus exercises.

In their turn, senior Russian and Belarusian officials reiterated that the drills do not pose any threat to other states and are exclusively defensive in nature. Moreover, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko stated earlier that these exercises would be open for foreign observers. The Defense Ministry of Belarus reported in August that observers from seven countries — Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Norway — were invited to the event. </s> johan_h/iStock/Thinkstock(STOCKHOLM) — The Swedish government announced a decision on Thursday to re-activate a military draft beginning next year.

Citing “the security environment in Europe and in Sweden’s vicinity” which it says has “deteriorated,” the Swedish government said it is looking to bring in 4,000 recruits per year in 2018 and 2019. That figure will increase to 5,000 in 2020, 6,000 in 2021, and 8,000 from 2022 to 2025.

The reason it has chosen conscription for those efforts is because “all-volunteer recruitment hasn’t provided the Armed Forces with enough trained personnel.”

In 2016, the government said, the Armed Forces “lacked 1,000 active squad leaders, soldiers and sailors as well as 7,000 reservists.”

Conscription will include both men and women. </s> Baku. 31 August. REPORT.AZ/ The United States and Ukraine are launching Sea Breeze naval exercises in Odessa and Mykolaiv regions today.

Report informs referring to foreign media, 2.5 thousand soldiers not only from the United States and Ukraine, but also from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and Moldova will take part in these exercises.

They will involve more than 150 pieces of equipment - ships, submarines, helicopters, airplanes.

According to the plan exercises will last up to September 12.
Sweden starts its largest military exercise in over 20 years. Nearly 20,000 troops are set to participate, including a contingent of over 1,000 U.S. soldiers. The drills will take place on and around the island of Gotland, including soldiers from NATO countries.