Estonia's view on supporting Ukraine and strengthening the Baltic Sea region
(NATO Parliamentary Assembly)
“Estonian leaders see the war as an important element of a broader Kremlin effort to revivify the Russian empire, retake control of those former Soviet Republics now integrated in western security and economic institutions and eviscerate US influence in Europe and beyond. The challenge is grave because Putin’s Russia is prone to taking great risks, and Allies cannot discount the possibility that the Kremlin might precipitously attack Estonia or another Baltic state, occupy territory and assume NATO would not respond to what would, in effect, be a fait accompli.”
—
“Like its Baltic Allies, Estonia sees little alternative but to prepare its forward defences and do so in close cooperation with its NATO Allies, which must collectively double down on enhancing deterrence. The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO and the forward deployment of Allied troops in the Baltic states and Poland have already done much to improve the situation.”
—
“Estonia may be a small country, but it punches above its weight in NATO and is leading by example. Indeed, national defence expenditures currently stands at 3.4% of GDP, and the government has introduced a special purpose tax to underwrite defence spending, the Head of the Estonian Delegation to the NATO PA, Raimond Kaljulaid, told the delegates. A significant portion of these funds is allocated for civilian protection and other essential non-military capabilities needed to bolster societal resilience. …”
“NATO uus peasekretär Mark Rutte tuleb mõne päeva pärast Eestisse.” - Postimees
“NATO uus peasekretär Mark Rutte tuleb Eestisse.” - ERR
Poll: Baltic residents prefer Kamala Harris as next U.S. president
(Postimees | Estonian World)
“While 66% of Estonians prefer Kamala Harris and 16% prefer Republican candidate Donald Trump, there is no such preference for Harris among respondents of other ethnic backgrounds,” said Aivar Voog, head of research at Kantar Emor. Among people of other ethnic backgrounds, 47% are neutral, 27% would support Harris, and 25% would support Trump.”
https://news.postimees.ee/8116205/survey-baltic-residents-prefer-harris-as-next-us-president
—
https://estonianworld.com/security/poll-baltic-people-prefer-harris-as-the-us-president/
“Trump süüdistas Zelenskit sõja puhkemises.” - ERR
____________
Cover Photo
https://paranull.blogspot.com/2024/10/porkuni-mois.html
EstoNews On-Line
https://estonewsoftheweek.blogspot.com/
EstoNews Dropbox Archive
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1kvd04gtar6ty2b/AADCUK2J_RXcMyIYf_sjnAwoa?dl=0
____________
Suurbritannia määras Eesti kaitseks brigaadi
(Postimees)
“Ühendkuningriik toob eelpaigutusena Eestisse hulga kaasaegset relvastust, muu hulgas liikursuurtükke Archer.”
https://www.postimees.ee/8117267/suurbritannia-maaras-eesti-kaitseks-brigaadi
“UK assigns Brigade Combat Team for Estonia's defense.” - Postimees
“Britain bolsters NATO’s eastern flank with new pact with Estonia and new cooperation on missile defence.” - UK Government press release
“UK designates a brigade for Estonia’s defence, will send tanks.” - Estonian World
Estonian Parliament: Stalin’s Deportation of Crimean Tatars was a Genocide
By Paul Goble
“… and that Moscow is continuing that crime against humanity in Russian occupied Crimea. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Stalin’s deportation of 200,000 Crimean Tatars from their homeland, the Estonian parliament voted overwhelmingly to denounce that action and point out to the world that Putin is continuing that policy in Russian-occupied Crimea.”
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/10/estonian-parliament-says-stalins.html
“Moscow Now Seeking to Kill Off Finno-Ugric Peoples in Russian Federation, Estonian Deputy Warns.” - Paul Goble
Estonia Unveils New Military Academy in Tartu for officers
(Baltic Times | Defense Post)
“Estonia’s Defence Investment Center (RKIK) has launched a new education center in Tartu to train military officers at a permanent site for the first time. The infrastructure serves as Tallinn’s solution to the constant transfer of its defense courses in the past decade due to an effort to move forward from obsolete training bases. … the officers now have their own permanent educational building," said Peeter Karja, Southern Portfolio Manager of ECDI.”
https://www.baltictimes.com/defence_academy_was_opened_in_tartu/
—
https://thedefensepost.com/2024/10/18/estonia-military-academy-tartu/
Estonians continue to prepare to defend themselves against Russia
(Deutsche Welle)
"It is not a secret, where we are living. We are not alone in the Baltic region," says Lieutenant-Colonel Raul Kütt, commander of the southern division of Estonia's Defense League. "The same applies to Latvia and Lithuania. And we don't know what the outcome of the Ukrainian conflict will be. Can it spread? In order to be ready for the worst-case scenario, we still have time to exercise these kind of activities.”
https://www.dw.com/en/estonian-volunteers-prepare-for-potential-russian-attack/a-70436904
“Estonia nearly halving Iraq deployment next year.” - ERR
“Estonia Expresses Interest in Ukrainian-Made Long-Range Weapons.” - Militarnyi
“Nearly 900 young adults to start conscription in Estonia's October call-up.” - ERR
“Polish and Estonian artillery forces demonstrate interoperability with K9 howitzers.” - Defence Industry Europe
Estonia considering missiles, drones that can strike inside Russia
(Defense One)
“We have learned from this conflict [in Ukraine] that you need to be able to conduct your shaping operations really effectively, meaning that you need to carry the effects deep to enemies,” Magnus-Valdemar Saar, director of the Centre for Defence Investment, said. “If we look at operational level from, you know, brigades, division, you cannot just have a close fight anymore” with anti-tank weapons and the like. “You need to carry the effects deeper. You need to start shaping”—that is, taking out enemy forces before they reach the front line.”
Estonian Special Operations Forces
(Grey Dynamics)
“Analysis suggests that Estonia has the most developed total defence and unconventional warfare processes and capabilities of any Baltic state. Much of this is due to the Estonian Special Operation Forces; a highly specialised unit responsible for all manner of special operations. … ESTSOF officers complete significant training once inducted into the Special Operations Force. The training likely lasts a minimum of 3 years, including personal development, qualification in special operations, and other specialised training. In addition, the Estonian Special Forces as a whole complete ongoing training with international forces, most notably the US SOF.”
https://greydynamics.com/estsof-estonian-special-operations-forces/
“Estonia’s Rise in Special Forces Expertise.” - SOFX
Estonia’s concept of a ‘personal state’
By Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik and
Marlena Gołębiowska
(Institute of Central Europe)
“In 2024, Estonia, one of the world’s leaders in digitalisation, announced the next stage in the development of its public administration. The concept of a ‘personal state’ (personale riik) is intended to elevate the relationship between citizens and the administration to a new level. The state aims not only to respond to citizens’ needs, but also to anticipate them by offering personalised services in advance. The implementation of this concept can set new standards in the global approach to the digitisation of public services. However, it also raises social concerns about the protection of privacy …”
https://ies.lublin.pl/en/comments/estonia-the-concept-of-a-personal-state/
“Personaalne riik.” - Majandus ja Kommunikatsiooni Ministeerium (PDF)
“Personaalne riik – mõtleme veel.” - SIRP, mai 2024
NASA Welcomes Estonia as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
(NASA Press Release)
“Erkki Keldo, Estonia's minister of economy and industry, signed the Artemis Accords. Rahima Kandahari, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department and Lisa Campbell, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) president, also participated in the event.”
—
"Estonia is well known as the leading country in e-governance, and it is a great honor for us to enter a next level in space exploration," said Keldo. "We are more than interested to share our knowledge with the global space community to make future collaboration in space exploration a success for humankind. I am sure that joining the Artemis Accords will open attractive opportunities to Estonian enterprises too, to share their valuable knowledge and competences."
“Estonia Becomes 45th Nation to Sign Artemis Accords.” - Space & Defense
“Opinion: The Artemis program — years behind schedule and billions over budget — should have taxpayers and presidents demanding answers.” - Bloomberg, Oct. 2024
____________
“Tartu Ülikooli teadlaste avastus tõotab hüpet pilditehnoloogias.” - Novaator
“Annual inflation in Estonia still double eurozone as whole.” - BNN
“Estonia considers making Constitution Day a new flag day.” - ERR
“Estonian parliament recognizes mass deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide.” - ERR
“Zelenskyy's victory plan contains several elements Estonia highlighted.” - ERR
____________
Around the Baltic Sea
As the Baltic Sea erodes Latvia’s shoreline, locals grapple with what’s lost
(Meduza - Riga-based)
“According to old maps and research, the sea has swallowed roughly 200 meters of Bernāti’s coastline over the last century, inundating sand dunes, “sea gardens,” and woods, and washing away at least five farmsteads, a lighthouse, fishing boat docks, warehouses, and a defunct gunpowder magazine. Bernāti is one of the southern points on Latvia’s Baltic coast where the sea’s advance is most intense. Researchers from the University of Latvia began monitoring coastal erosion along the Gulf of Riga in the late 1980s and expanded their work along the country’s entire seaboard after 1992.”
—
“According to geologist Jānis Lapinskis, the researchers marked some 4,000 control points along the coastline and regularly measured their distance from the water's edge. … This wealth of data collected over many years has allowed researchers to show just how far the sea is advancing in different areas and predict how the coastline might shift. According to their calculations, the Bernāti area could lose another 200 meters of coast to erosion by 2060.”
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/10/18/disappearing-coast
Finland to host part of Nato's 'largest ever' artillery exercises in Europe
(Finnish Defence Forces | Yle)
“In Exercise Dynamic Front 25 (4. to 28. November 2024), artillery units will operate in several countries’ territories simultaneously. The Allied troops participating in the exercise conducted in Finland will total 1,250, including units from the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Estonia, France and the Czech Republic, among others. The exercise activities taking place in Finland will enhance the Army units’ fires command and control and use of artillery systems.”
—
Why the Baltic region is the most vulnerable to subsea sabotage
(Euronews)
“A joint investigation from public broadcasters in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland found at least 50 suspected Russian spy ships operating in that region, where they are doing underwater research for potential sabotage sites. In the background, NATO is quietly hosting meetings with these four states and others around the Baltic Sea to protect their subsea cables from attack.”
“Saksamaa tahab hakata juhtima Läänemere veealuse taristu kaitsmist.” - ERR
Protecting European Transportation Networks from Russian Sabotage
(CEPA)
“The lessons learned from Ukraine’s own campaign to degrade Russia’s rail system offer a blueprint for European nations to protect their own transportation networks.”
https://cepa.org/article/sabotage-protecting-european-transportation-networks-from-russia/
“Several railway stations in Rīga planned to be rebuilt.” - LSM
“Swedish defence spending is set to increase by 50%.” - Radio Sweden
“NATO entering version ‘3.0’, Finland’s president says.” - Kyiv Inependent
“Norway and Finland plan to improve their cross-border rail and road connections for military use.” - Norway News
“The incredible new £12 billion train line linking four countries in Europe.” - UK Express
“Sweden boosts defense spending to handle a ‘wartime situation’.” - Politico
“Sweden's homicide rate linked to gang warfare.” - Euronews
Interview: Jens Stoltenberg, recently retired NATO secretary general
(Spiegel)
“Jens Stoltenberg served as NATO secretary general for 10 years (2014 to 2024). He spoke about military aid for Ukraine, his relationship with Donald Trump, and his new job as head of the Munich Security Conference.”
Putin’s Forever War
EU, NATO pledge Zelenskiy support but reticent on Ukraine 'victory plan’
(Reuters)
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pitched his "victory plan" to the European Union and NATO on Thursday, receiving pledges of continued support but no endorsement from key allies of his call for an immediate NATO-membership invitation.”
—
“Zelenskiy said Ukraine's supporters would be making a "big mistake" and strengthen Russia if they did not back the plan, which also calls for more weapons and permission to use Western long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-pitch-victory-plan-eu-nato-2024-10-17/
“NATO considers financial aid for Ukraine instead of military assistance.” - ERR
Videos appear to show North Korean troops at Russian military base
(Politico Europe)
“Rumors about Pyongyang’s involvement have been swirling ever since South Korea issued a public warning that Pyongyang was planning to step up its involvement in the Kremlin’s war machine, from providing artillery to sending up to 12,000 troops. This week, officials in Kyiv repeated those warnings.”
—
“On Friday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said 1,500 special forces troops had already been deployed to Russia.”
Why Younger Russians Are Not Rebelling—and What It Means for the Future
(Foreign Affairs)
““… among Russia’s youth today, there are few signs of any meaningful currents of resistance. Instead, many of them seem to be passive or active conformists, seizing on the opportunities that the still-present market economy or big enterprises provide for young careerists. They are sometimes far from the Kremlin’s ideal, for which young people would consist of obedient workers in the military-industrial complex, soldiers, and mothers with many children, adherents of traditional values. But even these archaic prospects do not seem meaningless to many. Although outward behavior may be only one part of the story, it suggests how great may be the challenge of breaking with Putinism.”
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/putins-children
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessments
October 16 and 17, 2024
(ISW)
“Russian sources reported on October 16 that unspecified actors killed the deputy commander of Russia's Special Operations Forces (SSO) Training Center, Nikita Klenkov, near Moscow City.”
—
“The EU issued a statement on condemning Russian executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and noted that at least 177 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian captivity since February 2022.”
—
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Ukraine's five-part Victory Plan aimed at winning the war by the end of 2025 to the Verkhovna Rada on October 16, which includes a promise to contribute experienced Ukrainian troops to defending NATO's eastern flank following the resolution of the war in Ukraine.”
—
“Russian President Vladimir Putin's current theory of victory in Ukraine seeks to protract the war and posits that Russian forces can outlast Western support for Ukraine and collapse Ukrainian resistance by winning a war of attrition. Russia will likely face serious medium- and long-term constraints that will undermine this strategic effort, however.”
—
“Imprisoned ardent nationalist and former Russian officer Igor Girkin notably questioned the Kremlin's articulated theory of victory and assessed that 2025 and possibly late 2024 will be “a serious test” for Russia because the Kremlin has yet to address medium- to long-term force-generation and defense-industrial-capacity constraints.”
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-17-2024
—
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-16-2024
“Arvamus: Zelenskõi mängib mõttega luua tuumarelv, kui Lääs ei astu Ukraina kaitseks seda sammu.” - Rainer Saks, Postimees
“As Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion Rages for a Third Month, What Is Happening on the Ground?” - The Moscow Times
“Black Sea: Russia is having a dreadful naval war, hindering its great power ambitions.” - The Conversations
“Estonian Intelligence chief says Ukrainian strikes on ammo depots worsen Russia’s munitions crisis.” - Euromaidan
“Estonian intelligence predicts impact of Ukrainian strikes on warehouses in Russia.” - MSN
“Ukraine's Zelenskyy presents 'victory plan' to fellow lawmakers.” - CBC
“Duma Votes to Increase Penalties for Russians who Engage in Armed Uprisings from 20 Years Imprisonment to Life Behind Bars.” - By Paul Goble
“How Russia Invaded Wikipedia.” - Foreign Policy Magazine
“Moscow Threatening Environment by Sending Aging Ships without Ice Protections through Parts of Northern Sea Route.” - By Paul Goble
“Surviving Russian Prisons And The Frightening Food They Serve.” - RFERL
“Navalny associates awaiting trial speak of horrific conditions in pretrial detention.” - Novaya Gazeta
Ukrainian drone war shaking up Russian society
By Vadim Shtepa
“Russia’s war against Ukraine has turned into the first major full-scale drone war, and Ukraine is dominating this aspect of the conflict through its innovation and leadership in drone production. … Russian propaganda traditionally downplays the significance of Ukrainian drone attacks, calling the destruction of its facilities the result of ‘falling debris from a downed drone’. Russia’s avoidance of reporting on drone strikes creates more questions for the public. The most recent example of this concerned how a giant military warehouse in Toropets, Tver oblast, was destroyed by such “debris.” While the media claimed “falling debris” caused the building’s destruction, at the time of the attack, seismic labs recorded an earthquake in the region when there had never been an earthquake before.”
https://jamestown.org/program/ukrainian-drone-war-shakes-up-russian-society/
“Claim: One million drones purchased by Ukraine are already on the front line.” - Militarnyi
The Russian Orthodox Church: A conspiracy against truth and goodness
By Edward Lucas, Substack
“The Russian Orthodox Church has sold its soul to the Kremlin. And not for the first time.”
https://edwardlucas.substack.com/p/the-russian-orthodox-church?utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true
___________
_______
__
