The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service said the Kremlin is preparing for a possible conflict with NATO that could arise in the next decade, in particular by moving to a mass army model.
Nobody cares what that US sockpuppet has to say. Estonia is de-facto governed by the US. These poor Estonian guys just literally receive their press-releases and speeches from the US embassy. The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service = CIA. They keep whining about Russia attacking them for like last 20-25 years or so already.
As the intelligence report explains, Russia's intentions are evidenced by army reforms initiated by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu. In particular, the Russians decided to eliminate the joint strategic commands and return to the model of command and control by types of forces and special forces. Thus, in the northwestern part of the Russian Federation, the Baltic and Northern Fleet will be transferred to the direct subordination of the Russian Navy, and the air defense will be subordinated to the Aerospace Forces. Military districts will begin to function as territorial military commands.
How can these reforms be a proof of Russia preparing an attack on the Baltics?
Another change: on February 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree “On military-administrative separation.” Now in Russia the Western Military District (WMD) will be disbanded, and in its place the Leningrad (LPO) and Moscow (MPO) military districts will be formed, as was the case before 2010. The decree, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), is a sign that Russia is preparing for war against NATO. This is due to the fact that the LPO will now cover the area along the northeastern border of NATO, and the MVO will border the northeastern part of Ukraine and Poland. This does not stretch the strategic focus, as in the case of the Western Military District, and will allow the Russian Federation to simultaneously field troops against NATO countries, optimize command and control over troops for waging war in Ukraine.
This is Russia's response to a further unreasonable NATO expansion (Finland + Sweden).
No, you are definitely a Russian, if not by nationality, then by the great imperial Russian ideology. Finland and Sweden submitted their applications to join NATO after Russia carried out a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Isn't this a sufficient justification for joining this alliance, when they saw how Russia is trying to brazenly and brutally destroy a neighboring state? On the other hand, only the people of Finland and Sweden, as well as the government they elected, can determine their foreign policy course, and no Russia has the right to tell them here.
Russia has already attacked the borders of Finland with refugees from third countries, as it previously tried to do on the Belarusian-Polish border. Therefore, Finland was forced to completely close the border with Russia since last fall.
As for Russia’s preparations for an attack on NATO countries, in particular the Baltic countries, in this matter each country relies on its own sources, including its intelligence data, and publishes only its conclusions, and not the facts about such preparations. From the point of view of Kremlin propaganda, of course, all countries that have not fallen under Russian influence are puppets of the United States.
Until the very last day before the attack on Ukraine, Putin and his circle denied at all official levels the possibility of an attack on it. Therefore, European countries already know that the Putin regime cannot be taken at its word. And since the Kremlin’s mouthpieces periodically continue to threaten a good half of European countries with various methods of military attack, even this is enough for these countries to consider such a threat real. Partly because of this, Europe is now increasing the size and armament of its army, increasing the production of the defense industry and continues to provide all possible assistance to Ukraine to protect it from Russian occupiers.
