The commander of the Estonian armed forces, Lieutenant General Martin Herem, wrote on Facebook that Estonia and the other Baltic countries have no right to underestimate Russia’s aggressiveness and that he there is no reason to believe that Russia’s defeat in Ukraine will mean the end of the threat against Estonia.
“For now, let’s set aside the scenario where Russian forces have already physically withdrawn from Ukraine, but Russia can still bomb from afar. Let’s imagine the war ‘dies down’ for some time by 2014 .state borders,” he wrote.
According to the lieutenant general, even a positive scenario of the end of the war in Ukraine does not mean a lasting peace, and even NATO countries are threatened.
“First, the Russian Federation has officially and publicly declared a large part of Ukraine as its territory. It is difficult to imagine why Russia would want to stop hostilities after losing control of these territories,” explains Mr. Herem.
“Secondly, the reasons for starting the war have changed. If at first they wanted to denazify and demilitarize ‘dangerous Ukraine’, and this mainly concerned the Ukrainian authorities, now such words are no longer used,” Mr. Herem writes. He believes that statements about “NATO or EU satanists and pedophiles” that Russia is at war with are increasingly heard from Russia.
“Thirdly, the attitude towards Ukrainians as a nation has changed. Since the summer, the Russian media have increasingly mocked the suffering of the Ukrainian people (rather than the government)”, explains the commander of the forces Estonian armies. For example, on Russian state television, politicians promise to send a rocket to the people of Kyiv for Christmas.
In a situation where millions of Ukrainians are without electricity, the news makes fun of the fact that Ukrainians don’t know how to use generators or gas stoves, which is why the fires are breaking out.
“Despite the heavy loss of human resources and equipment, Russia has sufficient potential to strike some of its neighbors,” writes the lieutenant general, adding that after declaring the mobilization, the Russian authorities can also increase the capacity production of the industrial enterprises concerned.
“Whether Estonia is attacked by old T-62 tanks or new T-90s, they will still need Javelin or Eurospike missiles to destroy them.” The same can be said about enemy soldiers, planes and other equipment – we still need weapons, ammunition and the ability to use them against masses of enemy soldiers, Mr. Heremas reasons and comes to the conclusion that Estonia must constantly and methodically develop its military capabilities, to be ready to resist the attacking enemy. “Mass was and still is their advantage.”
“In view of the above, we have no right to underestimate Russia’s aggressiveness in the future, and there is no reason to believe that Russia’s defeat in Ukraine will mean the end of the threat to our country.” There is no miracle solution against such a threat. But you can give a rebuttal. And perhaps by preparing for this threat, it is even possible to prevent it. Whatever happens, the armed forces will do everything possible,” Mr. Herem concluded.
Source: The Delfi
