Europe is still far from having strength to keep Russia at bay, says Estonian PM
Europe is still far from developing the military strength necessary to keep the Kremlin at bay, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal believes.
Source: European Pravda, citing Michal in an interview with The Times
Quote from Michal: "Russia is an acute threat to Europe, to NATO, to every sane country in the world. We have even been seen as a little bit paranoid talking about Russia’s threats [in the past]. But right now, everything we in the Baltics or Poland or the Nordics have been talking about has come to life."
Details: He noted that the intrusion of at least 19 Russian drones into Poland last week was the first time NATO had been "tested in airspace".
Michal said he believes the alliance’s response "convincingly passed the test", but Europe is still far from building the military strength needed to keep the Kremlin at bay.
"It will take a lot for Europe to become much stronger," he said. "Right now we are still at the start."
In this context, he noted that rapid rearmament demands painful spending cuts and tax rises in Estonia, which has a relatively small budget deficit and one of the lowest public debt levels in Europe.
Michal would also like European allies to pool their resources and jointly purchase weapons to reduce costs.
Background:
- The latest data indicated that the wreckage of Russian drones had been found in 17 settlements across five Polish voivodeships, most of them – 10 – in Lublin Voivodeship.
- Against this backdrop, the North Atlantic Alliance decided to launch an operation called Eastern Sentry to strengthen its eastern flank.
- On 14 September, Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed a decree allowing foreign military forces to remain on Polish territory as part of Eastern Sentry.
- Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that the shooting down of 3 or 4 out of the 19 Russian drones by Polish air defence units could, "by Ukrainian standards", be regarded as a complete success.
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