Skip to main menu 15.03.24 NEWS ... Up to 30 Estonian Defense Forces instructors will be sent to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces' new recruits in the UK as part of mission Interflex.
15.03.24 NEWS ... Russian citizens living in Estonia's border city of Narva can cross the bridge and vote in Russia's presidential elections in Ivangorod this weekend. However, the journey is longer this year as more checks are being carried out.
15.03.24 NEWS ... Companies are being called on to support reservists and the Ministry of Defense is organizing the first reservist week to highlight their importance.
15.03.24 NEWS ... The question of sending Taurus air-launched, long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine has become a political battleground inside Germany, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz taking a more cautious line than many politicians in his coalition, including even the defense minister.
15.03.24 NEWS ... Due to the Russian presidential election this weekend, there has been an increase in attacks by Ukraine against Russian critical infrastructure. Ukraine can hit targets up to 1,000 kilometers inside Russian territory, Col. Tarmo Kundla, chief of operations for the Estonian Defense Forces Headquarters. said on Friday.
15.03.24 NEWS ... This Friday (March 15), marks the inauguration of the €6.2 million NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence's new building in Tallinn. The center provides facilities needed for the day-to-day work of cyber experts from almost 40 nations.
15.03.24 NEWS ... Estonia's air force (Õhuvägi) continues to operate as usual, but from a different base from its regular home at Ämari, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Thursday.
14.03.24 NEWS ... Third-country citizens living in Estonia must hand their firearms over to the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) by Friday (March 15) following a law change last year. Most have already done so.
14.03.24 NEWS ... Sweden's formal accession to NATO has been a great boon for Estonia, in terms of both national security and of opportunities for the defense, tech and related industries, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said Wednesday.
14.03.24 NEWS ... Estonia and Spain have signed a bilateral cooperation agreement which will bolster the defense and security of both countries and the NATO alliance more broadly, the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) reports.
14.03.24 NEWS ... The recent attack on a Russian dissident residing in Lithuania has led to those who oppose the current Moscow regime and who have sought asylum in Estonia to become more fearful, ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) reported Wednesday.
13.03.24 NEWS ... Estonia intends to participate in the European Union's Operation ASPIDES, a defensive maritime security operation of the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) in which member states' warships will guard trade routes on the Red Sea.
12.03.24 NEWS ... Western allies may be able to live with poor, even toxic decision-making in smaller countries such as Hungary or Slovakia, journalist and security expert Edward Lucas writes. However, when this happens in the case of Germany, the largest European Union member state and second largest donor to Ukraine, it is harder to ignore, Lucas goes on in a piece which first appeared on the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) website.
12.03.24 NEWS ... Many of Estonia's state institutions were over the weekend hit by the largest wave of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks seen in Estonia to date, daily Postimees reports, though the impact on these institutions' websites and services was not extensive, thanks mainly to mitigating measures.
12.03.24 NEWS ... Sweden's flag was raised at NATO Headquarters for the first time on Monday in a ceremony to mark that country's membership of the alliance, formalized last week.
11.03.24 NEWS ... Estonia's e-Governance Academy (eGA) has recently joined forces with NATO for a project to align Moldova's cybersecurity with Euro-Atlantic standards and institutions with the goal of bolstering the country's capacity to handle security threats in the cyber domain, the foundation announced recently.
11.03.24 NEWS ... The Ministry of Defense is planning amendments that would allow reservists to contribute more to national defense, including by participating in foreign missions, instructing conscripts and performing many other tasks currently reserved for active service personnel.
08.03.24 NEWS ... The Estonian state is demanding Jõhvi municipal government revoke the building permit for the construction of a solar park because the solar panels could interfere with Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) activity in Ida-Viru County. For the municipality, this could mean a sizable damages claim, as the developer had to dismantle the already completed solar park.
08.03.24 NEWS ... The state wants to enforce building shelters for all buildings over 1,200 square meters in the draft prepared by the Ministry of the Interior. Shelter construction adds about 2 percent to building construction costs.
07.03.24 NEWS ... European Union countries have pooled money to buy 800,000 shells for Ukraine, and the first shipment could arrive in the coming weeks. Estonia has not contributed money for ammunition, but sends some from its own stocks.
07.03.24 NEWS ... Ukraine is the only country to use homemade attack drones in naval warfare. Estonia is also preparing to use maritime unmanned vehicles, but there are maritime law issues involved.
07.03.24 NEWS ... Today, March 7, Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO after depositing its NATO ratification instrument with the U.S. Department of State. Estonia welcomes Sweden's accession to NATO.
07.03.24 NEWS ... A delegation from the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense visited Tallinn this week to discuss with their Estonian counterparts, among other topics, finding a new NATO secretary general. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia's views "largely coincide" with Romania, which has reportedly nominated its President Klaus Iohannis for the position of the alliance's head.
07.03.24 NEWS ... The Ministry of Defense has issued a directive ending the sale throughout its area of government, including all retail outlets on Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) territory, of products that continue to be available in Russia, the ministry announced Thursday.
07.03.24 NEWS ... On Thursday, Lithuanian intelligence published its annual report, revealing that Russia is expending vast resources not only on the war with Ukraine but also preparing for a long-term confrontation with NATO. During the press conference presenting the contents of the book, it was also announced that Belarusian spies were caught last year, and the activities of Russian hackers were discussed.
07.03.24 NEWS ... The Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) is basing its training increasingly on lessons from Ukraine, including the use of drones, countermeasures and other new technologies.
07.03.24 NEWS ... The appointment of current Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as next NATO secretary general, while not a reflection on Rutte's ability to do the job, would demonstrate that there are those in the West who still think the chance of normalizing relations with Russia at a future date should be fostered, defense expert Kristi Raik said this week.
06.03.24 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) confirmed to Riigikogu members, that similarly to other EU countries, Estonia will not send soldiers to the war in Ukraine.
06.03.24 NEWS ... Estonia has joined the U.S.-founded Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) initiative to develop its network and bring new industries to Estonia in the future.
05.03.24 NEWS ... At an exercise in Poland, allies are practicing supporting NATO's eastern flank. After a journey of several hundred kilometers, British, German and many other allied forces crossed the Vistula River and are now heading further into Eastern Poland.
05.03.24 NEWS ... Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) on Tuesday rejected criticism he was influenced by rumors when choosing the next head of the Estonian Defense Forces.
04.03.24 NEWS ... The Russians have started to take more risks with the air force at the front, and this is one of the reasons why the Ukrainians have been able to shoot down 13 Russian planes in the last two weeks, former Commander of Estonian Air Force Col. Jaak Tarien said.
04.03.24 NEWS ... Eastern European countries, which joined NATO and the European Union in large numbers 20 years ago, are frustrated by the low number of representatives among the leadership of both organization, writes POLITICO. The situation could be reaffirmed in the second half of this year, when the leadership roles in both organizations change hands.
04.03.24 NEWS ... After long resistance from Turkey and the end of Hungary's stalling tactics, Sweden will become a member of NATO. Experts say this will make it easier to plan for security in the Baltic Sea, but could also leave the Baltic states on the border between the two commands.
04.03.24 NEWS ... Europe must do more for its security by boosting what it spends on defense and the output of its defense industry, outgoing head of the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) Gen. Timo Kivinen said. The defense chief added that a defense spending of 2 percent of GDP is not enough to achieve these goals.
04.03.24 NEWS ... Former EDF head Riho Terras (Isamaa) and security expert Meelis Oidsalu found on "Terevisioon" Monday that Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) hurried his decision for the next chief of the Estonian Defense Forces and should not have been swayed by rumors.
03.03.24 NEWS ... On Friday, March 1, the Lielvarde military airfield in Latvia became the third NATO base where allied fighters conducting the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission over Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will be stationed. The Lielvarde base became the new location for NATO fighters as the Ämari Air Base in Estonia is undergoing repairs.
02.03.24 NEWS ... The Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) artillery battalion (Suurtükiväepataljon) recently tested out some newly-acquired shells at the Soodla range.
02.03.24 NEWS ... Monday's meeting of European leaders in Paris, where expressions of support for Ukraine were made, represented a positive step, according to many foreign policy experts. However, an ongoing spat between the leadership of France and Germany may have distracted from that, ERR reports from Brussels.
02.03.24 NEWS ... Europe needs to take a "bigger, stronger and more aggressive role" in its support for Ukraine, Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm said on Friday, but said things will get worse before they get better. He said western countries only need to allocate 0.25 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to Ukraine to allow it to win the war.
01.03.24 NEWS ... Outgoing commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Gen. Martin Herem said on Vikerraadio's "Vikerhommik" on Friday that Maj. Gen. Veiko-Vello Palm, the commander of the Estonian Division who recently announced his retirement from active duty, had been prepared to continue serving under the new EDF chief. Herem admitted that maybe should have done a better job getting certain reserve and retired officers into his space, as that may have meant fewer attacks against the EDF and its leaders.
01.03.24 NEWS ... Coalition Riigikogu members who sit on parliament's national defense committee have called for closer ties to be fostered between the states of Estonia and Israel, in the light both of last autumn's terror attack, and of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
29.02.24 NEWS ... Commenting on Maj. Gen. Veiko-Vello Palm's recently announced decision to retire from active duty, Gen. Martin Herem, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), said that the lack of trust in Palm expressed in the media in recent weeks also had a role in this decision. Herem believes that retired officers and politicians have unduly disparaged the Estonian Division commander.
29.02.24 NEWS ... Maj. Gen. Veiko-Vello Palm has asked to leave active service, which request EDF Commander Gen. Martin Herem has granted. Palm will join the reserve from March 29.
29.02.24 NEWS ... The Ministry of the Interior says it has no plans to close a southeastern Estonian border checkpoint, citing job losses and other negative impacts on local residents were it to do so.
28.02.24 NEWS ... Sweden's accession to NATO will be most noticeable in terms of impact on units which get deployed on foreign missions and cooperate with the militaries of other nations, serving Swedish soldiers told ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK).
28.02.24 NEWS ... NATO will get a boost from Sweden's imminent accession, leading to a strong military and technological capability for the alliance, a former Estonian ambassador to Sweden says.
27.02.24 NEWS ... Estonia is not discussing sending ground forces to Ukraine, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said on Tuesday, after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested this scenario could not be ruled out. However, if they were sent, they could be used to backfill or train Ukrainian troops, a researcher has suggested.
27.02.24 NEWS ... Riigikogu members are working to quickly change the law to allow border guard helicopters to continue making emergency flights before a potential ban enters into force in April. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) first reported its concerns almost a decade ago.
27.02.24 NEWS ... Police and Border Guard (PPA) personnel in the Southeast of Estonia on Sunday detained a citizen of the Russian Federation who had clambered over a border fence into Estonian territory, regional daily Võrumaa teataja reports.