Russia is currently conducting military exercises simulating missile attacks on Estonia, according to the Estonian Ministry of Defense.
The increased provocations are believed to be a sign of the NATO summit in Madrid next week.
Russia is currently acting sharply against Estonia, just days after threats were made against neighboring Lithuania.
The Estonian Ministry of Defense states that Russia is conducting military exercises simulating missile attacks on Estonia. writes the news site Bloomberg.
The Ministry does not go into exactly how it knows that the exercises have taken place. Bloomberg points out that this is not the first time that Russia has had NATO countries as targets in military exercises.
The site has also searched for both the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Ministry of Defense, which have not responded.
Marking before the NATO meeting
The Estonian Ministry of Defense also states that Russia has behaved provocatively at the border with Estonia.
Among other things, a Russian helicopter flew into Estonian airspace on June 18 without a permit and was there for two minutes. It was the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February that such a violation took place. The incident is described as “extremely serious” and led to the Estonian Foreign Ministry calling in the Russian ambassador in Tallinn for a protest.
The increasingly provocative Russian behavior is believed to be a mark ahead of the NATO summit in the Spanish capital Madrid next week, in which member Estonia will attend.
Hotat Lithuania
Earlier this week, Russia also threatened its neighbor and NATO member Lithuania, following a EU decision banning Russian goods subject to sanctions as a result of the war in Ukraine from being transported through Lithuanian territory. The only railway between Russia and Kaliningrad runs via Lithuania.
– This decision is more than serious. It is completely unsurpassed. It is a crime against everything, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also wrote in a press release:
“If freight transport between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of Russia via Lithuania is not completely restored in the near future, Russia will act to protect its national interests.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia’s response would be “practical” rather than “diplomatic” against Lithuania. She did not go into details about the statement.