Finland ran a large civil defense drill in Kuopio with more than 2,000 participants.
Why it matters: The exercise shows how Finland is stress-testing civilian resilience as NATO countries prepare for sabotage, cyberattacks and wartime disruption. It also gives other governments a concrete example of how to rehearse sheltering and continuity planning when infrastructure fails.
- Suojaan 2026 took place in Kuopio’s Savilahti Luola on Sept. 2-3, with a public-facing program on Sept. 2.
- AP described it as Europe’s biggest civil defense exercise since World War II.
- More than 2,000 people took part, including volunteers, students, authorities, organizations, companies and regional and national partners.
- Officials tested sheltering, shelter operations and civil defense models under simulated power and water outages and a missile-threat scenario.
Finland staged the Suojaan 2026 civil defense exercise in Kuopio’s Savilahti Luola, a dual-use shelter that the city says can be converted to protect about 7,000 people. The drill ran Sept. 2-3, 2026, with a public-facing program on Sept. 2, according to the city of Kuopio and AP. Kuopio city page AP report
City officials said the goal was to strengthen cooperation among authorities and local actors, along with leadership, situational awareness and communication when normal society is disrupted. They said the exercise was pre-planned and not tied to any real emergency. Kuopio public announcement
AP reported that the scenarios included simulated power and water outages linked to cyberattacks, as well as a missile-threat scenario, and that more than 2,000 participants took part. Kuopio said the event was also opened to the public with a live broadcast from about noon to 2 p.m. on Sept. 2, followed by open house tours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. AP report Kuopio public announcement
Kuopio described the event as a chance to show how the shelter can be transformed into a civil defense facility. The exercise also highlighted how governments can rehearse mass sheltering and continuity planning when critical services are disrupted.
By the numbers
- 2,000+ - People who participated in the Suojaan 2026 drill
- 7,000 - People the Savilahti Luola shelter can protect, according to Kuopio
- Sept. 2-3 - Exercise dates, with the public-facing program on Sept. 2
Yes, but: AP’s description of the drill as Europe’s biggest civil defense exercise since World War II is not independently verified in the dossier, so it should be treated as AP’s characterization.