French paratroopers conduct military drill in Estonia

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — France’s defense ministry says its armed forces have conducted a hastily organized military exercise in Estonia. The airborne operation dubbed Thunder Lynx was executed at a very short notice, dropping about 100 French paratroopers over an area in the Baltic country secured by Estonian soldiers, the statement said. The surprise drill in Estonia, a NATO ally and Russia’s neighbor, was conducted Tuesday night as an act of “strategic solidarity” as war in Ukraine rages into the fifth month.