The Estonian government has criticized recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about russia's plans to mobilize forces to attack the Baltic states. This was stated by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Estonian broadcaster ERR reports.
He said that the Ukrainian leader's words do not match the data from Estonian intelligence services.
"We do not see russia concentrating its troops or in any way preparing for a military attack on NATO or the Baltic states - quite the opposite. Russia is not in a very strong position on the Ukrainian front, nor economically," the Foreign Minister emphasized, adding that such public messages do not contribute to effective cooperation.
This position was also supported by the head of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Marko Mikkelson, who called on Kyiv to discuss such threats with allies privately, and not through the media. According to the parliamentarian, the rhetoric about the imminent danger to Europe may inadvertently play into russian propaganda about the alleged superiority of the occupation forces.
"This is, of course, unpleasant and, of course, fuels the russian narrative that "We are the winning side, we are advancing, and you are retreating and losing"," Mikkelson noted.
He also expressed concerns that such statements could unreasonably undermine confidence in Article 5 of the NATO Charter on collective defense.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, Michael Klasson, suggested that russia could carry out a limited naval operation to test NATO's vulnerabilities.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.