Overview
- The NATO-led exercise on and around Gotland brought together thousands of troops from Sweden, a dozen allied nations, and Ukraine for large land, sea, and air drills.
- Ukrainian drone pilots trained Swedish units and used combat-tested tactics that repeatedly overwhelmed defenders in mock battles, exposing gaps in counter-drone skills.
- Military analyst Thomas Theiner warned that a Russian seizure could place anti-ship missiles and air defenses on the island, which he said would shut NATO ships out of the Baltic and endanger nearby capitals.
- The scenario focused on hybrid threats that included sabotage causing power outages and food shortages, and it tested how allies might act before a formal NATO mutual-defense trigger.
- Sweden joined NATO in 2024 and now garrisons Gotland, which sits roughly 200 kilometers from Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave.