Other events in Baltic States

A multinational command post exercise, Saber Knight, in which headquarters and commanders of units rehearse the planning and conduct of combat under the leadership of the Danish Division, started at the Tapa military base in north-central Estonia on Monday evening.

The commander of the Danish Division, Maj. Gen. Flemming Mathiasen, said the exercise forms a significant part of NATO's reassurance to its allies and demonstrates commitment to ensuring each other's security, spokespeople for the military headquarters of Estonia said.

The Estonian deputy chief of staff, Aivar Kokka, said training exercises of the Danish division have always been a challenge for all participants.

The headquarters of the 1st Infantry Brigade is taking part in the exercise from Estonia. In addition to Estonians military personnel from Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the United States and the United Kingdom, in all more than 600 uniformed personnel, are taking part in the exercise. Saber Knight will end on June 9.

Saber Knight is a part of the Danish Division's training cycle. During the exercise the planning and conduct of military operations in the Baltic countries to fend off an attack by a fictitious country called Botnia is rehearsed.

Estonia has been taking part in the Danish command post exercise since 2009, when the 1st Infantry Brigade was affiliated to the Danish Division in training. The division is part of NATO's  Multinational Corps North-East, which is ready to conduct operations in collective defense arising from the evocation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, among other things.

Saber Knight is a part of preparations for the multinational exercise Saber Strike, aimed at rehearsing cooperation between ground and air force units and acceptance of allies, which will start on June 13.