’Once war in Ukraine is over, Russia will definitely attack someone,’ - Estonia’s Defence Minister
Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem has stated that Russia may attempt to attack one of the NATO countries, regardless of the outcome of the war against Ukraine. In his view, Moscow will seek to strengthen its influence and sow mistrust amongst the allies.
According to Censor.NET, this is mentioned in an interview with Martin Herem published in *European Truth*.
Russia may test NATO after the war
Herem believes that once the hostilities in Ukraine have ended, Russia will begin to build up its military strength. He is convinced that Moscow will certainly try to test one of the countries’ resilience.
According to the minister, this could happen regardless of the outcome of the war. Russia may resort to such actions both in the event of a Ukrainian victory and in the event of a ceasefire.
Herem is not sure that Estonia will be Russia’s target. Among the possible options, he mentioned Latvia or another country.
The minister explained that Moscow does not necessarily have to occupy the territory of another state. Its aim may be to cause harm to the country, undermine trust amongst its citizens and weaken relations between allies.
According to Herem, Russia may attempt to attack NATO precisely in order to divide the Alliance.
Article 5 of the NATO Treaty does not guarantee that there will be no split
The Estonian Minister of Defence also noted that Russia could act in a manner that falls below the threshold for invoking Article 5 of NATO, or it could provoke a situation in which the Alliance would be forced to invoke it.
He explained that even a NATO victory in the war could have serious consequences if the cost of victory proved too high. In that case, the allies might end up blaming one another for failing to prevent the attack.
Herem suggests that Russia will try to capitalise on such disagreements and propose a return to the previous state of relations with Moscow.
"I’m not sure it’s possible to restrain a madman. That’s why we need to prepare for an attack. That’s the only thing we can do. Moreover, if our preparations are very thorough, it might prevent the attack. But we must be ready for it," the minister emphasised.
According to him, thorough preparations for a possible attack are essential, even if they ultimately help to avert it.
It was previously reported that the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of fuelling fear over the threat of Russian aggression against NATO.
