The need to protect Gotland from foreign invasion seemed so far-fetched to Swedish leaders at the beginning of the century that they demilitarized this island in the Baltic Sea, AP reported.

Now the Swedish armed forces are back, and they are working with US troops not only to defend the island of 58,000 people, but also to retake it from the enemy.

As part of NATO exercises in the Baltic Sea, US Marines landed troops on Gotland.

Although the annual BALTOPS exercise is not conducted in response to a specific threat, this year it comes amid heightened tensions with Russia. About 7,000 military personnel and 45 ships from 14 NATO countries, as well as Sweden and Finland, are participating in the exercises.

Despite their non-bloc status, the two Scandinavian countries regularly conduct exercises with NATO countries, and their governments, in connection with the events in Ukraine, decided to seek full membership in the Western military alliance.