It looks worse from the Baltic countries.
Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians are concerned that the Russian belligerence towards Ukraine could make them next targets. An attack on Thursday was accompanied by escalating tensions that brought back painful memories of oppression and mass deportations.
“My grandparents were sent to Siberia. KGB persecuted my father. “I now live in a democratic country, but it seems like nothing can be taken as a given,” Jaunius Kazlauskas (a 50-year old teacher in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital) said.
Russia’s attack against Ukraine sent shockwaves through the Baltic states. The president of Lithuania declared a state emergency and Latvia suspended broadcast licenses for several Russian TV stations that were accused of spreading disinformation.
Josef Stalin annexed all three Baltic countries during World War II. They regained their independence in 1991 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. They joined NATO in 2004 and were placed under the military protection by the U.S. Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
The small Baltic countries, along with Poland, a NATO member, have been vocal advocates for strong sanctions against Moscow, and NATO reinforcements on NATO’s eastern flank.
In recent weeks, leaders of the Baltic governments have traveled to European capitals to warn that Russia must pay Vladimir Putin for his attack on Ukraine. If he doesn’t, then his tanks will continue rolling towards other parts the former Soviet Empire.
“The fight for Ukraine is a war for Europe. In a joint news conference last week with U.S. Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuanian Foreign Minister, warned that Putin will continue to go further if he is not stopped.
Two days prior to the attack, the U.S. President Joe Biden declared that American forces in Europe, including 800 infantry troops and F-35 fighters, would be transferred to the Baltic states. He described the move as defensive.
The news was received enthusiastically in the Baltic capitals. The NATO treaty obligates all allies and allies to defend any member country that is under attack. However, the Baltic countries insist that NATO must show its resolve with boots on the ground.
Janis Garisons (state secretary at Latvian Defense Ministry) stated that Russia always measures military might, but also the will to fight. “Once they spot a weakness they will exploit it.”
Although Putin has not publicly stated any desire to reaffirm Russian control over the Baltic states, many Estonians Latvians and Lithuanians are concerned that he may want to regain influence in all former Soviet Union republics. He once called the Soviet Union’s collapse a tragedy for the Russian people.
Putin stated that Ukraine was “not just another country for us” in a speech he gave earlier this week, setting the stage for Russia’s military intervention. It is an integral part of our history, culture, and spiritual space.”
The Baltic countries are culturally and linguistically distinct from Russia, and don’t share the same Russian identity and history. They were however ruled for the majority of the last 200 years by Moscow, first by the Russian Empire and then for nearly 50 years by the Soviet Union after World War II. Ethnic Russian minorities are found in all three countries. In Estonia and Latvia, they account for about one-quarter each of the total population.
Although many of them are well integrated and have their own language, tensions flared when hundreds of ethnic Russians protested government plans to relocate the Soviet war memorial in Tallinn (Estonia’s capital) in 2007. Estonia suspects Russia of inciting unrest and orchestrating cyberattacks which paralyzed government computers networks.
“When Putin calls Ukraine an artificial state without history, it reminds me of the same things they have been repeating for many years about all former Soviet republics,” Nerijus Maliukevicius said, a Vilnius University political analyst. He said that the Russian “state propaganda machine” is working at unprecedented intensity and that it is not only about Ukraine.
Lithuania borders Kaliningrad in Russia, where the country’s Baltic Sea Fleet is based. Belarus, a former Soviet republic, borders Lithuania. There, thousands of Russian troops were deployed for joint exercises. Belarus announced recently that drills would continue due to tensions in eastern Ukraine.
Before Russia attacked Ukraine, Arvydas Anusauskas, Lithuanian Defense Minister, stated that “it seems they aren’t going to leave.” “But numbers don’t necessarily mean everything. Technically, there are advanced troops on the other side of the border. They are primarily responsible for deterrence and defense, if needed.
The Baltic countries support Ukraine. Baltic leaders recently visited Kyiv to express solidarity and sent weapons and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
Estonia celebrates its independence on Thursday. However, it is not taking a strong position in the conflict because it fears its security, according to former President Kersti Kaljulaid. She was the first woman to hold this office.
She said, “We do it because it is our moral obligation.” “We strongly believe that every nation should be able to determine their own future.
Although the Baltics are directly neighbors to Russia, she stated that other European countries should also be concerned about the Ukraine crisis.
She said, “Frankly speaking I don’t believe it concerns the Baltics more.” “If you take a look from Kyiv it’s the same distance from Berlin as Tallinn.”