Estonia prepares for possible Russian attack and moves troops to the border

Estonia is moving its main combat brigade closer to the Russian border and is moving to a strategy of “active defense.” The country is also building new military bases and purchasing weapons capable of striking deep into Russian territory.

The Financial Times writes about this.

The 1st Brigade of the Estonian Defence Forces, currently based in Tapi, is to be permanently relocated to Jihvi, about 50 km from the Russian border . New infrastructure is already being built there for the military.

As explained by the brigade commander, Colonel Tarmo Kundla, the new strategy involves defense directly from the border.

“We have to start from the border and win the first battles,” he said.

Estonian military and intelligence officials do not believe Russia is seeking a full-scale war with NATO for at least the next two years. However, they suggest that Moscow may be preparing for a future limited conflict or provocation that would test the effectiveness of NATO’s Article 5.

A senior representative of Estonian military intelligence said that the next one to four years could be critical for the Baltic states.

“Containment is not working. The critical period for addressing this issue for all of us in the Baltics is the next one to four years,” he noted.

In addition to the base in Jyväskylä, a new military facility is being built in Narva . It will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 soldiers: 200 will be stationed there permanently, and another 800 can be deployed in case of a crisis.

In parallel, Estonia is increasing its long-range capabilities. Over the past year, the country has signed contracts for the purchase of nine American HIMARS systems with M57 missiles with a range of up to 300 km and nine South Korean Chunmoo systems with a similar range.

The Estonian Ministry of Defense stated that the goal of the new strategy is to make any aggression against the country unacceptable to the enemy and prevent the transfer of hostilities to Estonian territory.

Russia had previously tightened restrictions on movement in the border zone near Estonia . Tallinn said at the time that the assessment of the security threat to the country had not changed.

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