26 December, 2022: Why are the British soldiers in Estonia along with NATO forces? What is NATO? Read on...
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak served Christmas dinner to British and NATO soldiers at the Tapa military post in Estonia. He praised the warriors' valor and devotion to duty.
Together with his Estonian colleague Kaja Kallas, who was spotted serving the servicemen and ladies pigs in blankets, Sunak served turkey and veggies to the soldiers while wearing an apron.
In addition to expressing regret that the soldiers will miss their family's Christmas celebrations, Sunak congratulated them for their "sacrifice" and "extraordinary" service during a year when the globe was shaken by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to The Independent. Sunak was also observed conversing with the soldiers at the canteen.
But what are the UK and NATO forces doing in Estonia?
Post Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO1 decided to reassure its allies who border Russia – like Estonia – and to deter any potential Russian military aggression against NATO allies.
In 2016 NATO agreed to set up an “enhanced Forward Presence” (eFP) in Poland and the three Baltic countries2. This takes the form of a multinational battlegroup in each country. They were established in 2017.
The UK leads the battlegroup in Estonia. Since 2017 the UK has deployed an armoured infantry battalion equipped with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, numbering around 800 to 900 personnel, on rotating six-month tours. The UK deployment is based in Tapa and is known as Operation Cabrit.
Denmark and France also contribute to the battlegroup, which is integrated with the Estonian 1st Infantry Brigade.
In response to the build-up of Russian forces around Ukraine in early 2022, members of NATO announced plans to increase their military presence along the eastern flank of the Alliance.
On 10 February 2022 Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, said the British presence in Estonia will be doubled.
Source: UK Parliament website https://www.parliament.uk/
And now, what is NATO?
Formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty, NATO is a security alliance of 30 countries from North America and Europe. NATO’s fundamental goal is to safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means.
In 1949, the 12 founding members of the Alliance were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. The NATO Alliance currently consists of 30 member states from North America and Europe.
One of the Articles of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it should be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary.
Baltic countries2 : Post the First World War the term "Baltic states" referred to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Finland as a group of countries which had 2 things in common: 1. They by the Baltic Sea and 2. They all gained independence from the Russian Empire. Later Finland was grouped with Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, plus the three autonomous territories connected to these states: the Faroe Islands and Greenland (Denmark) and Åland (Finland))
So currently, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are a part of Baltic Countries.
Picture source: tktravelmarketing.com
On Monday, Mr. Sunak set out on a trip to the Baltic states, beginning in Riga, Latvia, where he urged the leaders of northern European countries to stay firm in their support for Ukraine at a Joint Expeditionary Force summit.
The UK doubled its presence in Estonia in response to the development of the Russian military near Ukraine, earlier this year. ‘This year, we have seen a full-scale war return to our continent, and I am immensely proud of the selfless dedication and bravery of our Armed Forces who responded to that threat to keep the UK and our allies safe,' the PM said.
