Baltic states expect US contingent increase and weapons help – WP

The Baltic countries, bordering Russia, count on US defense assistance and the deployment of American troops on their territory.

About 100,000 US troops are stationed across Europe, with a growing concentration in the east. But for those on Russia’s doorstep, it is not yet enough.

The Washington Post reported this.

First of all, this regards Latvia and Estonia. The governments of these countries insist that it is important to arm themselves like Ukraine because they see a danger from the Russian Federation.

The Biden administration has pledged to strengthen side-by-side exercises in the region to sharpen skills in air defense capabilities and other vital combat skills. On the one hand, that involves countries located close to the Russian Federation.

Estonia

Estonia, in particular, emphasizes the need to purchase artillery and attack drones.

“HIMARS, Reapers, counter-battery radars: this is what we need most in terms of military lethality, which is urgently needed to deter Russia,” Kusti Salm, secretary general of the Estonian Defense Ministry, said.

He also stressed that the use of military reserves is dangerous, so it is worth focusing on increasing manufacturing capacity.

“Very high risk of our own national security tapping into some of our reserves. … And I know there are other allies who are doing the same. So the only solution is to rapidly increase production power and make sure that the political framework and the political funding signals support for this,” Kusti Salm said.

The Washington Post reminded that the U.S. Congress approved hundreds of millions of dollars to support, train, and equip foreign countries helping Ukraine. A category that includes all frontline NATO states, as part of a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine and other measures to strengthen Western defenses.

It’s expected that the efforts to replace Soviet-era weapons transferred to Ukraine with NATO-standard weapons will be accelerated.

For example, Latvia felt comfortable supplying Ukraine with some weapons, as Russian forces withdrew from the country’s borders, according to a WP citing a senior US defense official.

At the same time, the United States is looking to the Baltic countries to build training ranges and other military infrastructure, the official added.

Poland

Poland also carries out active work with allies.The state is the third-largest donor to the Ukrainian forces and routinely calls on the West to support Kyiv.

At the same time, Polish officials believe that accelerating the supply of weapons to the Polish army is necessary to strengthen Warsaw’s position. Poland is awaiting Patriot missile batteries, HIMARS, F-16 fighter jets, and Abrams battle tanks, all the way through multi-year schedules set before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Latvia

Latvia is also actively working on rearmament. In particular, the country is considering the possibility of acquiring sophisticated long-range rocket artillery as well as air defense and coastal defense systems.

In addition, Latvia now considers the Belarusian and Russian borders as one. Latvian officials closely monitor what is happening on the other side of the border using intelligence provided by the United States and other partners.

There are currently about 600 Americans stationed in Latvia, up from about 100 last winter.

The WP emphasized that the continued deployment of NATO troops and weapons to countries along Russia’s flank is a strategy that Western military leaders call the porcupine defense. The main idea of the strategy is to make the invasion idea unpalatable to the enemy. This can be achieved by demonstrating that NATO troops can instantly mobilize and back up allies already strengthened by Western training and equipment.

As previously reported, Estonia and Finland will unify the missile systems of the coast guard within the framework of the defense integration plans of the countries.