The City of Hamina participates in the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland's Southeastern 25 readiness exercise

This year, the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland will organize the Kaakko25 regional preparedness exercise, focusing on the South Karelia and Kymenlaakso regions. The exercise will culminate in the training phase, which will be held from 2 to 4 September 2025. Participants will then be able to practice operations under imaginary emergency conditions. Kaakko25 will be carried out simultaneously Karelian Brigade's Karelian Stronghold local defense exercise 2/25 with such that their game actions and scenarios are coordinated.

It is estimated that nearly 1000 people from approximately 130 organizations throughout the Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency will participate in the Southeast25 preparedness exercise. The Regional State Administrative Agency organizes preparedness exercises annually for representatives of municipalities, welfare areas, rescue services and other authorities in the region. In the preparedness exercises, municipalities, authorities, organizations, regional actors and the business community are offered the opportunity to practice and develop their own preparedness for disruptions during normal times and exceptional circumstances. The exercises are part of the authorities' preparedness to promote overall security, ensuring the operating conditions of society both in disruptions during normal times and in exceptional circumstances.

The aim is to develop the participating organisations' own operational readiness, in particular cooperation, situational awareness and civil protection readiness. The scenario of the exercise is a tense international situation, which leads to a deterioration in the security situation of society, disruption of critical infrastructure and an increase in the threat of the use of military force. The theme of the exercise is very topical, and based on preliminary feedback, it has been felt to be very necessary.

Participating organizations practice collaboration and develop their own readiness

During the Kaakko25 exercise, various workshops, planning meetings and information sessions have already been organised between March and June, where exercise scenarios have been planned, the roles and responsibilities of participating organisations in disruption situations have been reviewed, preliminary tasks have been completed and the use of the virtual exercise platform has been familiarised. The exercise will pilot a geographic information system for the first time in the formation of organisations' own and regional situational awareness. Approximately 40 organisations are participating in the pilot.

The theme of the exercise is the preparation of authorities, municipalities and other regional actors for imaginary exceptional circumstances and a civil protection situation. The training phase of the preparedness exercise will be organized from 2 to 4 September 2025 as a situational leadership exercise, and a virtual training platform will be used. The preparedness exercise will not be visible on the street, but on the virtual platform, participants can practice various situations effectively from a civil protection perspective.

The Karelian Stronghold 25 local defense exercise, which will be held at the same time, will involve reservists and conscripts, and the operations and movements of the units formed from these will be partially coordinated with the readiness exercise. The local defense exercise led by the Karelian Brigade will take place in the Kymenlaakso region in the areas of Kotka, Hamina and Kouvola from 1 to 5 September 2025, which in turn may also be visible in the street scene in the exercise areas.