According to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the security situation in Europe is extremely tense. “We are seeing an unprecedented concentration of Russian forces by the borders of Ukraine. Russia is behaving more aggressively than ever before,” said Kallas. “In addition, Russia has made demands to NATO, which include the dismantling of the European security architecture. These demands affect us very directly,” the prime minister emphasised, adding that there are no signs at the moment of Russia intending to de-escalate the situation.
The prime minister pointed out that the government currently has three main courses of action. “The first course is diplomatic communication and work. Our main goal here is the unity and common messages of the NATO allies. It is in the interest of Russia to divide the allies and we will not let that happen,” Kallas noted. The prime minister also emphasised that we are working in the European Union together with the Americans on effective sanctions, which we ourselves must be prepared to implement swiftly and uncompromisingly. The prime minister also drew attention to issues related to the implementation of sanctions in Belarus. “Tomorrow we will discuss in the cabinet how to better monitor the implementation of sanctions in Estonia and prevent them from being circumvented,” said Kallas.
According to the prime minister, the second course of action of the government is to support Ukraine by all means. “We can offer Ukraine political support. We can also offer them military support, which has been talked about a lot. However, we can also share our know-how with them, for example, regarding cyber defence issues,” said Kallas.
As the third course of action, the prime minister pointed out that we need to focus on our preparedness for the crisis. “This means strengthening our defence capabilities and deterrence, and the allies have a very important role to play here,” said Kallas. “I am pleased to say that we are firmly moving forward in this regard. For example, the United Kingdom has announced that it will increase the amount of its forces in Estonia,” the prime minister noted. At the same time, Kallas added that it is important for Estonia to take steps to increase our defence capability as well. “We have made a decision to accelerate the implementation of the activities envisaged in the National Defence Development Plan and have allocated 380 million euros for this purpose,” she said, adding that the additional resources will help us increase preparedness, including the protection of the population.
The prime minister emphasised that there is no direct military threat to Estonia today. “The actions of Russia are not directed against us, but we must consider the possibility that Russia will expand its aggression and start direct military action in Ukraine,” Kallas noted. According to the prime minister, any increase in the military activities of Russia in Ukraine will also have a profound effect on Estonia, our security, our economy, and our sense of security. Armed conflict could lead to a wave of war refugees, among other effects, as well as cyber attacks directed at us.
The prime minister noted that tomorrow the cabinet plans to discuss the readiness of all areas for possible crises by ministries. “I am pleased to say that there was an exercise in autumn where we practised dealing with such crises. It is important that we have an inter-agency plan. There has never been a plan that among other issues very much focuses also on the protection of the population in general,” Kallas emphasised. The prime minister added that the most important thing in the current situation is that the government is prepared and implements its plans. “We hope the worst will not happen, but we will be ready for it,” she said.
