Estonia, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is considering the possibility of effectively blocking the passage of Russian ships through the Baltic Sea. Estonia's introduction of a so-called contiguous zone, which can be up to 12 nautical miles from the 12-mile territorial sea, allows the country to conduct searches in the Gulf of Finland on military ships and civilian vessels to monitor compliance with Estonian law.
This was reported by the Defense Express web portal with reference to the publication by ERR.
Currently, the Gulf of Finland within this zone is designed to leave a three-mile wide "corridor" for free navigation. And formally, Estonia will simply close this "corridor" by declaring it an adjacent zone. In fact, this simply means a sea blockade of one of the most powerful ports of the Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg, and all others in the Leningrad Oblast, as well as a blockade of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the main thing in this matter is not so much the possibility of announcement, but the possibility of real control on the part of Estonia. It should be noted that the entire Estonian fleet consists of four ships - the EML Wambola (A433) Lindormen-class minelayer, and three Sandown-class minehunters. The Border Service also has 1 Kindral Kurvits multipurpose rescue ship and boats.
It should also be noted that in 2021, Estonia purchased Blue Spear anti-ship missiles from Israel, which are to be part of the coastal defense complex. Although the term of the contract is marked at the level of 2026.
That is, from the point of view of naval capabilities, the country is unlikely to be able to oppose the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Federation. But this is not so important when it comes to the fact that the country is a member of NATO and any aggression even against a boat with the country's flag will be an attack on a member of the Alliance.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkura said that Russia's latest steps indicate its preparations for a major offensive in Ukraine in the coming months.
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