Would the K-komando have been capable of detaining Eagle S in Estonian waters?

We would have been ready. In terms of first response, the answer is yes. However, when conducting such operations, we need to keep in mind that we are a small country and would have needed to deploy everything we've got.

Does Finland have better capacity for such operations?

There is no reason to deny their means are greater. But that does not mean we would remain mere bystanders were something like that to happen closer to our borders.

Could we approach the Finns for help in such an eventuality?

Absolutely. Mutual relations, whether political or between agencies, are one thing. In terms of special forces, Europe has the ATLAS Network, which exists for more than just knowledge sharing and joint training. Members can also share resources and staff. We can turn directly to our colleagues if the situation is critical.

Are the Finns keeping us in the loop when it comes to their operations, considering EstLink 2 has two ends, one in Finland and the other in Estonia?

Information is exchanged in any case. As I've said, there is communication between agencies and on the political level. However, I believe it is not appropriate for us to discuss the level of detail involved.

How valuable is the experience the Finns are getting with this operation? Can these real-life examples be used at upcoming training exercises?

Certainly. The Finns have gained valuable experience here. These are precisely the kinds of situations special forces prepare and train for. Whether we're talking about operations at sea, on the ground or in the air. All decisions are time critical and all risks need to be weighed when such events occur. If we look out the window here, things seem calm, there isn't even any snow around Christmas. But the situation at sea is very different. You need to factor in the weather, conditions at sea, how fast different vessels move, whether you can board from a boat or have to take to the air. There are a lot of things to consider.

From your point of view as head of K-komando, are there areas where Estonia should boost its capabilities, or are we set?

We are set in the grand scheme of things, while there's always room for improvement, whether we're talking about surface vessels, aerial capacity or just training. I cannot say we're 100 percent ready, but we are 95 percent prepared for such situations.

Does Estonia have enough men for such an operation?

First of all, special forces can never be trained en masse. Personnel is always limited and there needs to be a correlation with conventional troops, but one could always use more people.

If the police's special unit is not enough, we will turn to the Defense Forces and the Special Operations Command. For example, when it comes to operations at sea, their training matches ours. But again, ours is thin state, meaning that everything we have in terms of national defense will be combined for a joint operation. Cooperation lies at the heart of it.

To what extent does the fact that the police no longer has direct control over vessels used for such operations, which are now in the jurisdiction of the State Fleet operating under the Ministry of Climate, complicate matters?

It does complicate matters. But the K-komando has its own speedboat. That said, we often use it to participate in the Frontex foreign mission, meaning that it may not always be in Estonian waters.

But this cross-usage of boats does not entail major limitations on special forces. It is not an obstacle and doesn't mean we'll be unable to approach by sea. For example, we used the State Fleet's Raju patrol boat for an operation where we needed to board a container ship and our own speedboat was not available toward the start of the year.

Which brings us back to ship limitations and the fact that Finland has more suitable vessels for such tasks.

The capacity and resources of Estonian and Finnish special forces are inevitably different.

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