Strengthening national resilience - best practices from the Estonian LYNX 2026 exercise
The Republic of Moldova participated, with the support of PractNet | International Practitioners' Partnership Network and European Commission, as an observer at national exercise LYNX 2026 from Estonia, one of the most complex crisis management exercises organized at the national level. The exercise was planned over a year, included around 70 trainings and 40 sub-exercises and brought together over 150 institutions from the public, private and civil society sectors.
The purpose of the participation was to learn from Estonia's experience and to understand how other states prepare their institutions for crisis situations: how they collaborate with each other, how quick decisions are made in difficult moments and, above all, how to ensure the continuity of essential services, regardless of the impact of crises. These services include the stable operation of energy supply, communications and safe water and food networks, the maintenance of public transport and road infrastructure, the protection of public order, the provision of emergency medical interventions and hospital care, the operation of rescue and emergency services, the continuity of financial and payment systems, social support for vulnerable people, as well as the protection of cultural heritage and the continuity of educational and cultural activities of national importance.
These lessons are useful for strengthening the capacities of the Republic of Moldova for prevention, preparedness, response to crises and for the development, in the future, of similar comprehensive exercises at the national level.
At LYNX 2026, complex crisis situations were tested, including:
- response to incidents such as disinformation campaigns, sabotage, explosions and drone threats;
- maintaining the functioning of the state and essential services under pressure on resources, including supply, resource management and operational support;
- organizing large-scale evacuation of the population, including transport of people, temporary shelter and preparation of reception spaces, with attention to vulnerable people;
- activation of population alert systems (sirens and official messages) for quick and coordinated information;
- the involvement of national level leadership in the exercise, to test how strategic, operational and tactical decisions are correlated between institutions, local authorities, the private sector and communities, including through the mobilization of volunteers in support of the population.
Such exercises help improve the state's ability to react faster and more organized in real crisis situations. For citizens, this means increased state resilience, institutions better prepared to communicate clearly, make faster decisions and ensure the functioning of basic services for their lives when difficult situations arise.
In accordance with the provisions of Law no. 248/2025 on the management of crisis situations, the National Crisis Management Center has the mandate to provide methodological support to public authorities in the planning and organization of exercises and simulations to strengthen the capacities of preparation and response to crises.
