Estonia calls up reservists to participate in military drills

Estonia's military conducted snap drills for reservists from territorial defence units on Friday.

More than 800 reservists and members of the paramilitary Estonian Defence League participated in the drills in Haapsalu.

The government stressed that this is an exercise and there is no immediate military threat to Estonia.

Lääne district commander Major Andres Valli said the training during the drills was adapted to the combat experience in Ukraine. 

"Based on the lessons of the Ukrainian war, we use more small unit tactics and we train for dispersed combat operations on terrain with the emphasis on the usage of anti-tank systems," he said. "so that there wouldn’t be only the anti-tank units but also infantry personnel who would be able to use the anti-tank weapon systems."

The drills were held after the government declared on Thursday it was carrying out the drills to "achieve combat readiness of designated units."

Estonia relies on reservists to make up its army. This is why it organises regular peacetime exercises in order to maintain and boost the ability of the reserve structure to react in a timely fashion.