Off Sweden’s coast lies the holiday island of Gotland, which security experts say could be a potential test site for Russia against NATO defences.
That is why a major NATO exercise involving 18,000 troops from 12 member states and Ukraine was held recently to practise defending the area around Gotland.
"If you control Gotland, you pretty much control the central part of the Baltic Sea from the Polish coast to the archipelago between Sweden and Finland," Sweden's chief of the defence staff Michael Claesson told dpa as the Aurora 26 exercise concluded.
The drills, which began in late April, involved land, sea and air operations aimed at countering growing hybrid threats and hostile activity along NATO’s eastern flank. T
The exercise officially ended on Wednesday, and the thousands of participating soldiers are expected to depart in the coming days.
Earlier this week, the presence of a Russian naval vessel near Fehmarn, a small island off Germany’s north-east coast, also raised concern.
"What we sometimes misinterpret in the West is the level of strategic risk-taking from the Russian side," Claesson said.
"If there is one thing the Russians know it is that all the Western countries now are investing heavily in their defence. So why would they wait, when there are still weaknesses that could be exposed?" he asked.
Ukrainians train NATO troops in drone warfare
Ukrainian drone operators, including a 24-year-old with the call sign “Tarik,” played a key role in the exercise.
"Drones are today one of the most important deadly weapons on the battlefield," Tarik said. "We are teaching the Swedes how they can make better use of them. There is a lot of potential for improvement at the moment."
Swedish, Ukrainian and US forces trained side by side on Gotland, highlighting strong operational cooperation despite political tensions among allies.
Claesson said any shift in US military presence inevitably affects NATO dynamics. At the same time, he described a greater European role in defence as a natural development that should not be seen as a US withdrawal.
US President Donald Trump has questioned aspects of US NATO membership amid disputes over allied support for US military actions in Iran. He has also announced plans to withdraw around 5,000 US troops from Germany.
