SPRING WIND 98 MILITARY EXERCISE: TRAPPING THE INVADER.

The joint exercise Spring Wind 98 culminated on March 27 with a simulated operation in which units of the three Baltic states had to entrap a large invading column. A Lithuanian unit engaged the aggressor force in a hold-off action, whereupon Estonian and Latvian units attacked and destroyed the enemy from the flanks. Lithuania hosted the five-day tactical exercise, which involved 2,500 soldiers and was attended by Western officers.

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus observed the exercise, the first held in Lithuania since his election in January. In a special statement on the occasion, Adamkus reaffirmed the Baltic states’ common goal of accession to NATO as the foundation of their security. And in an accompanying statement on relations with Russia, Adamkus expressed interest in political dialogue and economic cooperation, premised on the countries’ sovereign right to join alliances. (BNS, March 27; see also Monitor, March 24 and 27).

Ukrainian Parliamentary Elections.