Baltic Sea
Sweden Raises Alarm over Russian Military Exercises
Stockholm reinforced its defenses on a strategic island, amid military activity in the Baltic Sea that has “not been seen since the Cold War.”

STOCKHOLM — Holiday makers in Sweden heading out Tuesday to enjoy summer weather on Gotland, a scenic island in the Baltic Sea, were jolted when armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles boarded their tourist ferry, which was then escorted by Swedish fighter jets and a warship.
In addition to being a tourist destination, Gotland is also a strategically important site, often referred to as Sweden’s “fixed aircraft carrier.” The Swedish military deployed four naval warships and an unspecified number of ground forces and warplanes in response to a major Russian naval exercise that has set off alarms regionally.
A United States Air Force C-130 landed briefly in Visby, Gotland,