According to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, NATO plans for Russia to take over the Baltic states, after which NATO would liberate the countries within six months.
The Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas has strongly criticized NATO’s current plan to defend the Baltic states in the event of a Russian invasion. Kallas says Financial Times (switch to another service) according to the current plans, for example, in the event of war, Estonia would be swept away from the world map – all the way to Tallinn ‘s Old Town.
Kallas said on Wednesday that NATO plans to take over the Baltic states, after which NATO would liberate the countries within six months. He compared the situation to what has been seen in recent months in Ukraine, where the Russian invasion has wreaked havoc in less than four months.
– If we compare the size of Ukraine and the Baltic countries, it would mean the complete destruction of the countries and our culture, Kallas said.
– Those who have visited Tallinn and know the history and culture of our old town and the hundreds of years we have here – all of it would be swept from the world map, including our people and nation.
The war in Ukraine demonstrated the dangers of the current strategy
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania aim to change NATO’s plan. The issue is scheduled to be discussed next week at the NATO summit in Madrid, where the defense of the alliance’s eastern site is one of the key themes.
In the current strategy, there are about a thousand foreign NATO soldiers in each of the Baltic countries, who are to act as a kind of trap for the enemy forces. The lands would later be recaptured by larger forces.
However, especially with the horrors of the war in Ukraine, the Baltic states would like NATO to defend their entire territory from the beginning of the war. Kallas pointed out that Russia’s alleged war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine, for example, took place at the very beginning of the war. Thus, even in the Baltics, horrors would happen if Russia took over the territories.
– Now everyone can see that this trap model is not working properly.
Kallas also said he spoke to NATO forces stationed in Estonia, most of them British. According to the Prime Minister, NATO’s current plans would know that if Russia invaded, the vanguard of a thousand soldiers would be destroyed quite completely.
– They’re not in love with the idea … that they’re supposed to die, Kallas said.
NATO promises to strengthen the defense
Asked about Kallas’ comments, a NATO official said, according to the Financial Times, that NATO has plans to defend all allies and counter threats.
– But we never tell the operational details. The Secretary-General (Jens Stoltenberg) has made it clear that strengthening deterrence and defense is one of the key decisions at next week’s summit. We are doing more to ensure that we can defend every inch of the Allied territory, at all times and against all threats, the official said.
Kallas proposes that 20,000 to 25,000 NATO troops be deployed in each of the Baltic countries. However, the majority of these would not be foreign troops, but there would be between 3,000 and 5,000 foreign soldiers in each country, alongside Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian soldiers.
The Baltic countries also want reinforcement of the current Baltic air surveillance so that NATO planes can shoot down enemy fighters if necessary.
Kallas also comments to the international media on Finland’s and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership. He said that Estonia was Finland’s and Sweden’s biggest supporter of NATO membership, but agreed with others that Turkey’s stalemate in the countries’ membership path would hardly be resolved before the Madrid summit.