English Section

Estonia's prime minister: Europe, get ready for Russia's coming rearmament

16.01.2024 20:05
The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, has issued a stark warning that Russia will recover from the damage inflicted by Ukraine in 3 to 5 years, by which time it will be looking to attack "weakness". 
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. Photo: PAP/EPA/VALDA KALNINA

Kallas issued her warning in an interview for The Times. She said that Russia is an aggressor by nature, meaning it will seek to attack where it finds "weakness". 

She said that Russia continues, therefore, to represent a serious threat to NATO's eastern flank, including her own country, Estonia. 

Estonia intelligence estimates that Russia's recovery from the damage it has sustained from Ukraine will take "3 to 5 years", but this recovery time - as well as the threat it will represent - also depends on the unity of the western alliance. 

In an anti-Russian domestic policy move, Kallas has also announced that the Estonian government will cease funding Russian-language education. 

24% of the Estonian population are ethnic Russians with a higher percentage being Russian speakers. 

Sources: PAP, X

pt