Estonian Defense Minister: Russia will definitely attack someone after the war in Ukraine ends
Estonian Defense Minister Martin Herem believes that Russia will definitely "test" one of the countries, regardless of how the Russian-Ukrainian war ends, according to Європейська правда.
Herem considers it obvious that Russia will begin to increase its military influence every day as soon as the Russian-Ukrainian war ends.
"And then, given their worldview, they will definitely 'test' someone. Moreover, this will happen regardless of how the war ends: whether Ukraine drives them out of its land or there is simply a 'freeze' of hostilities", – he said.
At the same time, the head of the Estonian Ministry of Defense is not sure whether the Russian Federation will choose exactly his country.
"It could be Latvia or anywhere else. Russia's goal is to gain influence. They need power over others. But for this they do not need to occupy Estonia. Their task is to inflict such damage on us that we lose trust in each other. Both within the attacked country and among allies", – he said.
In his opinion, Russia may attack NATO "precisely in order to split the Alliance".
To a clarifying question about exactly how, Herem noted that Russia could act either below the threshold of Article 5, or even with the activation of Article 5.
"Here they also have a chance to split us. Because when Article 5 is triggered and we win the war – but that victory turns out to be too painful – then accusations will begin against NATO and each other that we failed to prevent it. At that moment, the Russians will offer their solution, like 'let's agree, we'll live as before, back to business as usual'. And as soon as we find ourselves under Russian influence, we will go down", – he said.
He was also asked whether he sees a way to prevent future attacks by the Russian Federation.
"I am not sure that one can deter a madman. Therefore, we need to prepare for an attack. That is the only thing that can be done. Moreover, if the preparation is very serious, then perhaps it will prevent the attack. But we need to be ready for it", – added the head of the Estonian Ministry of Defense.
Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he had a conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding the security situation in Eastern Europe and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Before that, he stated that there were signs of Russia preparing for escalation and suggested that the next seven to eight months could be decisive for the security of Ukraine, Poland and the entire region.
At the same time, Finnish President Alexander Stubb expressed doubt about Russia's ability to attack "the world's most powerful military alliance – NATO".