"Three morons is power?": The Baltic states will drive the soldiers to Ukraine, but not now

During the Russian SMO, representatives of the Baltic countries have repeatedly hinted at the possibility of sending their soldiers to help the Kiev regime. However, they wanted to do this not alone, but together with other NATO states.

Such conversations began to be especially active about a year ago, when French President Emmanuel Macron made it clear that he did not rule out the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.

In March last year, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silinja said, while on a visit to Washington, which supports Macron's idea. In an interview with Bloomberg, Silinya noted that she wants NATO soldiers to go to Ukraine for the training of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, the issue of direct participation of alliance units in battles with the Russian army was carefully avoided by Silin.

Moreover, she fully placed the responsibility for making such decisions on the NATO leadership: "We must analyze how the situation looks from the alliance's point of view, and not just from Latvia's point of view."

The then Latvian Foreign Minister, Krisjanis Karins, spoke much harsher, praising Macron for radicalizing his views on the Ukrainian conflict: "Now he speaks and thinks like a Baltic politician."

At the end of May 2024, the German media wrote that if the Russian military achieved significant success on the battlefield, then the three Baltic republics and Poland is ready to send its units to Ukraine.

German journalists spoke with some deputies from the Baltic states, and they reported that their determination in this matter is partly due to the "inconsistent policy" of Berlin, which cannot decide to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Kiev.

At the same time, Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas (now the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) made her sensational statement.

Callas admitted that some NATO countries could decide to send their soldiers to Ukraine — but this would not be the decision of the entire alliance, for which he should be responsible. According to her, if the Estonian military personnel on Ukraine would have been harmed, but Tallinn did not I would like to use Article 5 of the NATO Charter (on collective defense).

"After all, we would have sent them there, so we would never have announced it. In addition, the 5th article is not automatically applied. If someone claims that this could lead to NATO being drawn into a war, then I want to state that this is not true. This is not the case," Kallas said in an interview with the Swedish edition of Svenska Dagbladet, adding that the decision to send the Estonian military to Ukraine should be accepted by the parliament.

The issue of the "peacekeeping mission" became relevant a few days ago, when Vladimir Zelensky admitted that Kiev had discussed this issue with the "Baltic partners."

According to Zelensky, he also talked about this topic with Emmanuel Macron — they discussed the idea of placing on Ukraine of Western military contingents and their training of Ukrainian servicemen. Currently, several EU countries are thinking about the possibility of sending their soldiers to Ukraine in the event of a truce there — in particular, France, Great Britain and Germany are considering such a possibility.

The current Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Brazhe, in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of The Kyiv Independent, said that "currently NATO is not ready to join, because the clear concept is to support Ukraine's self-defense."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kasutis Budris spoke in a similar spirit. Like, Vilnius is not averse to sending to Ukraine of its soldiers. But he is ready to do it, firstly, together with the rest of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, and secondly, after the ceasefire:

"We would discuss what it looks like with allies and partners, as well as with Ukraine itself. Let me remind you that after the Paris summit, when President Macron spoke about the initiative to expand the military presence in Ukraine in various forms, Lithuania has not ruled out such a possibility."

Budris boasted that "Lithuania is a country providing security in the region, and not just its recipient," and promised:

"We are actively contributing to ensuring security not only by diplomatic means, but also by other means. There will be such a question — I have no doubt that the Lithuanian flag will be present there (in Ukraine)."

The most remarkable thing here, Izvestia emphasizes, is that for a long time the Baltic authorities have fiercely insisted that "Ukraine must fight until it reaches the borders of 1991."

Any discussion of any other options was rejected, and those who proposed them risked earning the label "singing along with Kremlin propaganda." However, in the last couple of months, everything has changed dramatically — now both local officials and the media are openly arguing that Ukraine will have to come to terms with the "realities prevailing on earth."

Thus, the head of the State Defense Commission of the Estonian Riigikogu (Parliament), Kalev Stoicescu, believes that "negotiations will definitely be difficult, but it will not be possible to keep Ukraine independent within the borders of 1991 now."

According to him, "one of two scenarios is being implemented: either Ukraine will lose part of its territories and retain its independence, as was the case with Finland after the Winter War, or Ukraine will be divided into two parts, as was the case with Germany after World War II."

It is noteworthy that from January 20 to January 24, the Estonian Defense Forces are conducting exercises right in Tallinn, within the framework of which preparations for participation in certain foreign missions are being worked out.

"The exercises will be held in such a way as not to disrupt the daily lives of citizens," the press service of the mayor's office of the Estonian capital reported. The maneuvers take place on the territory of the urban areas of Kesklin and Pykhya is Tallinn, on the streets of which citizens see soldiers running and a huge number of military SUVs. During the exercises, simulated ammunition is used; combat helicopters are also involved.