Mission Lynx, French soldiers in Estonia

18 July 2026Photos and text: Fred Marie11 images

Mission Lynx, les soldats Français en Estonie

01 / 11 · 18 July 2026Fred Marie / Collectif DR

A few dozen kilometers from the Russian border, Mission Lynx, deployed in Estonia since 2017, illustrates the profound transformation of European defense since the invasion of Ukraine.

Within NATO’s multinational battalion based in Tapa, around 350 French soldiers operate under British command alongside the Estonian 1st Brigade.

This deployment illustrates the shift from a symbolic presence to a truly deterrent posture, involving a buildup of forces, the prepositioning of heavy capabilities, doctrinal transformation and preparation for high-intensity scenarios.

The aim of the story is to understand how, on this territory of harsh winters and damp-saturated forests, a collective defense is being built for a strategic context that has been lastingly upended.

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11 images