Estonian defence minister: Russia will definitely attack another country after war in Ukraine ends

Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem believes that Russia will inevitably "test" another country regardless of how the Russia-Ukraine war ends.

Source: Herem in an interview with European Pravda

Details: Herem believes it is obvious that Russia will begin to build up its military weight day by day as soon as the Russia-Ukraine war is over.

Quote: "When they stop here in Ukraine – it doesn't matter how, whether you kick them out beyond the border or the war is just frozen – then day by day they will start collecting military fat. And given their attitude, they will definitely test somebody".

Details: At the same time, the Estonian defence minister is not certain that Russia will choose his country.

Quote: "Whether their first attack would be against Estonia, I'm not sure. It could be also Latvia or somewhere else. What Russia wants to achieve is influence. They need power. For that, they don't need to occupy, for example, Estonia. They need to harm us and to make us distrust each other, both in the attacked country and among the Allies".

Details: Herem believes Russia could attack NATO "just to break NATO".

When asked how exactly, he said Russia could act either just below the threshold of Article 5 or even triggering Article 5.

Quote: "Under Article Five, but also with Article Five, here they also have a chance to break us. Because when Article Five is invoked, and we win, but the victory is too ugly, then many start blaming NATO and each other. And that again is a moment where Russians will offer the solution. 'Let's talk, let's do business as usual' and so on. And once we are under Russian influence, we go down."

Details: Herem was also asked whether he can see any way of preventing subsequent Russian attacks.

Quote: "I'm not sure if we can deter the mad person. What we have to do is to prepare. And that's the only thing. We have to prepare very seriously [for an attack], and in doing so, we may prevent it. To be ready."

Background:

• Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the security situation in Eastern Europe and battlefield developments in the Russia-Ukraine war.
• On 28 August, Tusk said there are signs that Russia is seriously preparing for an escalation and suggested the next seven to eight months could be critical for the security of Ukraine, Poland and the region as a whole.
• Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has expressed doubt about the possibility of Russia attacking "the most powerful military alliance in the world – NATO".

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!