Population: 1.37 million
Defence spending: 5.4 percent of GDP
Border with Russia: 338km (210 miles)
Estonia, the smallest of the Baltic states, has experienced some dramatic incidents.In September, Tallinn said Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered its airspace for 12 minutes. NATO scrambled Italian F-35s stationed in Estonia as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission. Russia denied violating Estonian airspace.In March, a stray Ukrainian military drone crashed into Estonia’s Auvere power station.In April and May, Estonian authorities said drones entered their airspace, grounding flights and prompting warnings issued to citizens.Estonia’s intelligence services have said that the country does not believe Russia is preparing an imminent military attack on NATO, but that Moscow may be rebuilding its forces for the long term while engaging in hybrid attacks through drones, cyber operations, and sabotage.Tallinn claims one such hybrid method is the so-called “Narva People’s Republic”, a pro-Russian separatist narrative that casts Estonia’s Russian-speaking border region as a distinct political entity, echoing the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” used by Moscow as a pretext for intervention in Ukraine.Estonian authorities say it is part of a disinformation campaign rather than a credible separatist movement.Its military has, at times, been bellicose in its statements.In May, Estonia’s Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo argued that Russia is rebuilding its military much faster than many Europeans realise and that Estonia must be ready for a renewed m …
