Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have learned lessons from Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine and signed an agreement on Friday to establish joint defense facilities along the roughly 450-mile border they share with Russia and Belarus.
According to a statement from the Estonian Ministry of Defense, the aim of the agreement signed in Riga, Latvia, is to “ensure deterrence and, where appropriate, protection against a military threat.”
“The construction of the anti-mobility defense facilities is a carefully considered and thoughtful project, the necessity of which arises from the current security situation,” said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur. “Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown that in addition to equipment, ammunition and manpower, physical defenses on the border are needed to defend Estonia from the first meter.”
The purpose of the defenses “is to prevent a military conflict in our region,” Pevkur said. “We are making these efforts so that the people of Estonia can feel safe, but if even the slightest risk occurs, we would be prepared for various developments more quickly.”
The declaration of the agreement does not contain any information about the costs, the specific location of the fortifications or the construction schedule. However, it did include a graphic of what the fortifications might look like, which you can see below. It shows a model for T-shaped ski jumps with an attached bunker that can be covered for concealment.
This graphic shows how fortifications could be designed for the common Baltic defense plan. (Graphic from Estonian Ministry of Defense)
While the plan's announcement is vague on the details, it does offer some insight into how it might work.
The Baltic Defense Zone “by its nature is a complex of preventive and field security measures, the elements of which on the site support the activities of the defending units at the bases in order to stop the attack of aggression units if necessary,” according to the statement.
The defenses will be “scattered across the landscape, taking into account the results of the analysis of the enemy and the environment, as well as the battle plan of the Defense Forces units.” The Baltic States are an operational area, so defenses will be built jointly in coordination with Latvia and Lithuania. “
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to build joint defense facilities along the 450-mile border they share with Russia and Belarus. (Google Earth image)
The value of strong defensive lines became clear during Ukraine's counteroffensive launched last summer. As we have reported many times, it largely came to a standstill due to the massive, layered defenses and fortifications, which included trenches, anti-tank ditches, so-called dragon's teeth and many thousands of land mines.
The Baltic states also want to integrate the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) into their defense plans. (U.S. Army photo) U.S. Army photo
Estonia and Latvia also signed a “Cooperation Agreement to conduct NATO air security from Latvia's Lielvarde Air Base while the Ämari Air Base runway is being repaired.” As we have written in the past, NATO members provide air surveillance for the Baltics, which is over does not have its own aircraft to carry out these missions.
The War Zone has reached out to the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian defense ministers and will provide further details on this plan when they become available.
The announcement of this plan comes amid concerns expressed by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday that Russia could attack a NATO member in the next five to eight years.
“We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day… so we have to expect that one day Vladimir Putin could even attack a NATO country,” Pistorius told the German magazine Der Tagesspiegel in an interview published on Friday.
While a Russian attack is not likely “for now,” the minister added: “Our experts estimate a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible.”
The Pentagon, meanwhile, told The War Zone that it supports the joint Baltic defense effort.
“As always, the department certainly takes note of moves by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to increase their defense cooperation,” Army Maj. Charles Dietz, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an email to The War Zone. “Given the ongoing discussions about the global positioning of our military, we have great interest in these latest developments. The fact that these Baltic states remain in open dialogue with the US and other allies shows how important this issue is to them.”
The Defense Ministry “highly appreciates these joint efforts because they are not only good for the Baltics; “They actually help ensure the security of the entire NATO alliance,” Dietz added. “Seeing Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania cooperating in their defense is a good sign for regional security and that the situation remains stable. It also fits perfectly with what NATO and the US are striving for: a strong, unified front on the eastern edge of the alliance. It’s about showing that we’re all in this together and ready to stand up for each other when needed.”
A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle stands on the tarmac at Ämari Air Base in Estonia. (U.S. Department of Defense photo)
Much about this joint defense plan remains unknown. However, the idea of three nations working together to build anti-mobility fortifications against a potential Russian threat is a clear response to what we've seen in the last year or so in Ukraine, where there are mostly fortifications that Similar to the First World War, both sides' ground forces were denied significant gains.
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