Contents tagged with Estonia
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Estonia accuses Russia of violating air borders
A Tu-154M aircraft belonging to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs spent about a minute in Estonian airspace, the Estonian Defense Forces announced.
“A Ty-154M that belongs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation entered our airspace today over the Vaindloo island without permission,” the Defense Forces announced in their statement reported by TASS.
According to Estonia, the Russian aircraft spent about one minute in Estonian airspace with a transponder on—however, …
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Estonia to buy missiles for Mistral portable air defense systems from France for €50 million
Estonia’s state defense investment agency signed a contract for the purchase of short range missiles for Mistral man-portable missile system (MANPADs) for €50 million, Estonia’s Ministry of Defense reported on Twitter.
“The contract was concluded with the French manufacturer MBDA,” the statement reads. “It was signed by the head of the Center for Defense Investment, Rauno Sirk, and Vice President of the MBDA, Didier Philippe. In accordance with the agreement, between 2020 and o 2027, Estonia …
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Estonia: over the past week NATO Air Forces escorted Russian warplanes 12 times over the Baltic Sea
Estonia's Ministry of Defense reported that over the last week, NATO fighters had scrambled eight times to identify and escort Russian military aircraft.
According to the BNS agency, this time, a total of 12 aircraft of the Russian Federation were intercepted in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.
The latest incident was recorded on June 9, when the NATO air police accompanied Russian planes on three different occasions: an Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft, an An-26 freighter and a Su-24 …
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Construction of the first gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia has begun
Construction of the Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline “The Baltic Connector” began in the Finnish city of Inkoo, Yle reports. The Connector is the first gas pipeline in Finland. It will run along the bottom of the Sea and work to reduce dependency on Russian gas supplies.
The pipeline’s construction is set to be completed in 2020. However, during that time, the Finnish market will be open to competition.
Construction of the pipeline costs 250 million euro. The European Union will allocate 75% of …
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Former Estonian President: Russia may lose several cities if it attacks NATO
For 27 years, Russia has been conducting an information campaign against Estonia, and now it is trying to use the same methods to discredit Ukraine too, stated former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Ilves believes that despite its campaign to discredit Estonia, Russia does not threaten the country in a military sense, because it knows it could take significant losses. In this context, the former president pointed out that Estonia is a NATO member, and according to one of the Alliance’ …
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Estonia to spend 188 million euros to reinforce border with Russia
Deutsche Welle reports that construction of infrastructure and equipment for technical surveillance systems on the Estonian border with Russia is scheduled to begin in 2019 and continue through 2026. The total cost of the project is expected to be 188 million euros.
On Saturday, June 2, the Estonian parliament, called the Riigikogu, reported on its website that the Estonian Ministry of the Interior has partnered with the European border guard service Frontex for the project.
Earlier, the …
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Estonian President: In Ukraine there is a war, not a frozen conflict
The Press Service of Office of the President of Estonia has reported that Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called for consideration of the conflict in eastern Ukraine as a war. Kaljulaid, who visited the combat zone in the Donbas last week, said this on June 1st at a dinner for participants of the 12th annual Lennart Meri Conference.
"In Ukraine, during the last week alone, four people, including a 15-year-old girl, have been killed in shellings, and another 15 people have been wounded. …
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Estonia announces its first joint exercises with the Swedish Air Forces
The Swedish Air Force, together with the Estonian Air Force will hold AFX18 exercises. Swedish fighters will be deployed to the Ämari Air Base near Tallinn, the website of the Estonian Defense Forces reports.
"These are the first joint exercises between the Estonian and Swedish Air Force after the restoration of independence," Estonian Air Force Colonel Riivo Valge said. His words are quoted on the Ministry’s website. He noted that the exercises provide an excellent opportunity to practice …
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Estonia: Russian fleet trying press NATO out of Baltic Sea
Russia is trying to press NATO ships out of the Baltic Sea, said Estonian Defense Minister Jüri Luik.
“This is happening in international waters. It is a violation of the good tone rules of seafaring. An active arming of the region is taking place. It is happening absolutely without reason and is evidence of the increase in aggression in our region,” he said.
According to the minister, the Russian Navy is attempting to influence NATO through frequent flights over ships at low altitudes and …
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President of Estonia to visit Ukraine
On Monday, May 7, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid announced through her press service that she will pay an official visit to Ukraine on May 22.
President Kaljulaid is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Vice-Prime-Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze and Chairman of the Verkhovna, Rada Andriy Parubiy. Kaljulaid will additionally speak at a business seminar in Kyiv and meet with local entrepreneurs.
Kaljulaid plans to visit Eastern …