Russia's threats to Estonia: Fears escalate amidst rising tensions

The military aggression against Ukraine has intensified the fears of the other neighbors of the Russian Federation. These fears are not alleviated by the continued statements from Vladimir Putin and his propagandists. In one of the latest broadcasts on state media, the name of one NATO country was mentioned. The Russians expressed a desire to attack it with Topol-M missiles.

Much of the information conveyed by the Russian media and government representatives is likely not true. Such reports may be part of an information warfare strategy by the Russian Federation. 

Vladimir Putin does not hide his imperialist ambitions. Russian services systematically attempt to destabilize neighboring countries through hybrid actions. Both Putin and his propagandists regularly threaten the neighbors of the Russian Federation. One of the latest statements was directed at Estonia.

A Russian tourist put a Russian flag on his backpack and decided to walk around Batumi, a city in Georgia, 20% of whose territory is occupied by Putin's invaders. He was not received warmly — says a Russian propagandist on a recording shared by Anton Gerashchenko.

The propagandist assured that "the Russian army will not enter Estonia," adding that the Estonian government should, however, "know the prospects." — Let's not allow them to provoke us — he added at the end of his statement.

Does Estonia have reasons to be concerned?

Since the start of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Estonia has been regularly striving to strengthen its armed forces. Colonel Mati Tikerpuu, the head of one of Estonia's two military brigades, said in an interview with journalists from "El Pais" that his country could defend itself for a few weeks, waiting for support from NATO allies.

Estonia is regularly increasing its military spending. It has also signed an agreement with Lithuania and Latvia that envisions the creation of a so-called Baltic defense line. The Estonian government alone plans to build 600 bunkers along the border with Russia as part of this initiative.