The Suwalki Gap near Kaliningrad is considered NATO’s Achilles heel. Russia has repeatedly provoked with military maneuvers there. Estonia sees itself as the most threatened and also warns Germany.
The German news website Merkur.de quotes the Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna: “Russia’s counterattack would start here with us,” Tsahkna is sure. The country’s Defense Minister, Hanno Pevkur, has a similar opinion: “Ukraine is not enough for Russia. If the Baltics fall, Berlin comes next.”
Estonia shares a common border with Russia, almost 300 kilometers long. The fear of a Russian attack is great. For this reason, Estonia is investing significantly more than the two percent of gross domestic product prescribed by NATO in its military. Next year, it is expected to be around 3.2 percent.
Due to their proximity to Russia, the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are considered particularly threatened by Russia.
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-09-21), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
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