Estonia bolsters border defence against Russian hybrid threats
Estonia plans to create a large reserve unit to patrol the border and counter hybrid threats from Russia and Belarus. Around a thousand reservists are expected to be incorporated into it.
According to the Estonian Ministry of Defence, Russia and Belarus may intensify hybrid attacks on Europe's eastern borders within the next ten years. To counter these, the Estonians plan to establish a new military formation.
"This year, together with the volunteer paramilitary units and the Defense Forces, we conducted the first test for a small unit. And over the next three years, we plan to recruit this thousand people,” said Lauri Läänemets, the Estonian Minister of the Interior.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia began actively strengthening its border with Russia and purchasing modern weapons to counter the threat from Russia. The Estonian army also actively exercises with other NATO countries to boost its combat capabilities.
Over the next four years, the Estonian Ministry of Defence will invest approximately 440 million pounds in developing military infrastructure, including the creation of new garrisons.
"The influx of migrants is a specific tool"
According to analysts, aggressive actions by Russia in the eastern outskirts of the Union are related to the war in Ukraine and are an attempt to intimidate the European community.
Marek Kohv, head of the security and resilience research programme at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn said that Russia intends to exert pressure on the West in all possible ways to reduce Western support for Ukraine. At the same time, it wants to create problems in our society, raising the question of whether the West should support Ukraine if this support creates various internal threats for us, as he argued.
Kohv added the influx of migrants is a very specific tool that can be used. However, Estonia is not currently a target country, according to him, since the migrants are more likely to choose Germany, France, and Spain. Nevertheless, Estonia should also be prepared for migration pressure, he added.
According to him, uncontrolled migration in Europe can negatively affect political decisions and public opinion, as is the case in Germany, France, and Spain, for example.
