Estonian Defense Forces Commander Gen. Riho Terras has urged Estonian troops to exercise vigilance due to the upcoming Russian-Belarusian Zapad 2017 (West 2017) exercises in mid-September.
“This year is the year of Zapad. It means we are observing events abroad even more closely,” the press service for the Defense Force’s headquarters cited the general as saying in his speech on the occasion of the beginning of the academic year at the Defense Forces Academy on Sept.1.
“Even if the risk of direct military invasion of the Baltic states and Poland is low, we, together with our allies, need to be vigilant and ready for a quick response if the picture of the threat changes,” Terras said.
The Russia-Belarus Zapad 2017 strategic exercises will be held on September 14-20.
