NATO countries built solid defense lines and prepared a scenario for Russia to attack 0
(Dan Tri) – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are actively building giant defense structures along their common borders with Russia and Belarus.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania build a common defense fortification along the border with Russia and Belarus (Photo: Estonian Ministry of Defense).
The Baltic Defense Line, which includes hundreds of bunkers and other defensive measures, is a key part of the agreement signed between Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia last month.
Estonia plans to build 600 bunkers, at a cost of $65 million, along its 455km border with Russia, the country’s ERR television station reported.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said the defense system would include peacetime bunkers, support points and distribution lines.
`The defense line in the Baltic is a big project,` Lukas Milevski, a researcher at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, commented recently.
He added that the Baltic states `believe that they cannot give up their territory, which means admitting that they need to be prepared to deal with Russia’s military campaign from the first moment.`
Donatas Palavenis, a researcher at the Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology, said that the defense system is intended to corner the enemy in a position favorable to the defenders.
Diagrams of prototype bunkers released by the Estonian Ministry of Defense show elongated structures designed to fit into a T-shaped dugout and their entrances protected by earthworks.
These structures are set up similarly to Russia’s Surovikin Line, which effectively stopped Ukraine’s counteroffensive last summer.
`Building this fortified defense line will certainly take time and resources, but its effectiveness was clearly demonstrated in the Ukraine war, where the army was unable to overcome obstacles efficiently.`
Earlier this week, Estonian foreign intelligence officials warned that Russia `may be anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade`.
Top officials in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have long signaled warnings about Russia’s growing assertiveness.
In the January agreement, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia also agreed to develop High Mobility Rocket System capabilities.
The agreement by Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia comes amid uncertainty about the future of US-NATO military aid to Ukraine.
The leading Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump, recently said he would encourage Russia to do `whatever they want` with NATO members that do not spend enough on defense.
