The #Baltic countries see a threat to their security after a truce in #Ukraine. They fear that Moscow, taking advantage of it, will accelerate the implementation of plans for rearmament and redeployment of troops to #NATO's northeastern flank, writes the British newspaper The Financial Times, citing statements from the defense ministers of Estonia and Lithuania.

"We all understand that when the war in Ukraine stops, #Russia will very quickly redistribute its forces," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told the publication. His Lithuanian counterpart, Dovile Šakalienė, also urged, "not to lie to ourselves that Russia will stop after Ukraine." "They already have a huge, battlefield-trained army that will only grow larger" Šakalienė explained.

According to Pevkur's assessment, out of the 600,000 Russian soldiers currently in Ukraine, 300,000 will likely be redeployed rather than return to Russia to "harvest corn or do something else, because the army salary is about five to ten times higher," the minister explained.

Both ministers also warned against the redeployment of NATO troops from their countries to form a peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine.
#Baltic #Ukraine #NATO