Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have agreed to create a “defense line” on their eastern borders, including the border with Russia, he writes mail time.
Tallinn plans to build fortifications from around 600 concrete bunkers, mostly in Estonia’s Ida-Virumaa region and in the southeast of the Baltic country. Some will also be installed near Lake Peipsi. Such shelters must withstand a direct hit of a 152 mm caliber projectile.
Each building is designed for ten people. The size of the bunker is 30-35 square meters and there are sleeping places in each one.
It has not yet been determined how far from the border the concrete bunkers will be built. The installation of fortifications will begin in the first half of next year.
The construction of the shelters is expected to cost approximately 60 million Euros.
“Protect from the first meter”
Advisor to the Vice-Rector of the Estonian Ministry of Defense, Kaido Tiitus, emphasized that NATO considers Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a single operational zone and that physical barriers are needed at the border to protect the region from the first mistress of the invasion.
“Russia is and will remain the biggest threat to Estonia’s security. The war in Ukraine has reduced Russia’s offensive power, but according to various estimates, Russia is ready to restore it in two to three years. We must be prepared and increase the cost for Russia of an attack on Estonia,” Tiitus emphasized.
In his opinion, shelters are needed to delay the enemy at the border and give the allies time to come to the rescue.
The advisor recalled that Estonia had already established protective structures in the east in recent years, but these “worked in peacetime and unfortunately did not have much effect in wartime.”
Colonel Tarmo Kundla, Chief of Operations of the General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces, noted that in the future, the shelters will probably create many defense zones close to the border. Their construction will require agreements with landowners. The Ministry of Defense will begin discussions with local residents in the coming weeks. Landowners may be asked to enter into an agreement whereby they can use the refuge “as a cellar and store their potatoes there, for example.”
The General Staff admitted that in case of attack “shelters alone are not enough to repel the enemy attack”, tank barriers or mines and barbed wire, the so-called “dragon teeth”, are needed. All this is stored “near the eastern border” and will be installed there immediately “if necessary”.
Concerns and Predictions
On January 16, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in an interview with The Times newspaper statedHe said that Russia would begin to threaten European and NATO borders within three years, so Europe should be prepared for the return of a serious military threat on NATO’s eastern flank.
Callas’ prediction is based on the scenario in which a ceasefire agreement has been signed in the conflict in Ukraine and the Baltic states are the most vulnerable. The Estonian plan also includes proposals to help Ukraine fight against Russia, including advice not to be afraid to help Kiev.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna in November acceptedHe said the country’s border with Russia could be closed “if necessary.” According to him, this issue will be discussed if necessary to support Finland.
A few days before the minister’s statement at the Narva border gate reinforced Concrete barriers known as “dragon’s teeth”. Tallinn said Russia was illegally allowing migrants to enter Estonia through its western border.
Alexander Solfrank, also Head of NATO Joint Logistics Command stated about the need to create a free military transit zone, a kind of “military Schengen”. Solfrank said that the Central powers faced obstacles in the form of national regulations when transporting military personnel and ammunition, and that a military alliance would solve these problems. The Kremlin said such ideas “only increase tensions in Europe.”