Aurora 23 military exercise, with the participation of NATO member countries, will start in Sweden on Monday, and it will be "largest national exercise of its kind in more than 25 years," the Swedish Ministry of Defense informed.

The purpose of the exercise—in which the land, sea and air forces will participate—is to “counter an armed attack on Sweden.”

A total of 26 thousand servicemen from Austria, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the US, Ukraine, France, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia will participate in the exercise.

The main operations of this military exercise will take place in the southern and northern border areas of Sweden, as well as in and around the island of Gotland.

The military exercise will conclude on May 11.

As during the previous—Aurora 17—military exercise, special attention will be paid to the prevention of potential environmental damage caused by the movement of large armored vehicles.