Scared of expansionist Russia ,Baltic states spend big on defence

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Baltic States
Russia’s meddling in Ukraine has delivered a wake-up call on defence spending to small Baltic states which spent half a century under Soviet occupation and now fear the Kremlin’s territorial ambitions.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are on heightened alert as Russian military planes and warships skirt their airspace and sea borders on a daily basis in what they call “unprecedented” Russian activity.

Nato said its Baltic air patrol intercepted more than 30 Russian aircraft on Monday alone over the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Norway.

That same day Lithuania put its military on higher alert after 22 Russian warships were spotted in the Baltic Sea, including a heavily-armed corvette within three miles of Latvia’s sea border.

“The current security situation will stay with us for a long period of time. This is not just bad weather, this is climate change,” said Taavi Roivas, Estonian Prime Minister.

The Baltics escaped Soviet clutches and regained their independence in 1991, before joining the European Union and Nato in 2004 to cement their Western orientation.

All three have welcomed assurances from their Nato allies that any aggression against them will be regarded as an attack on the Atlantic defence alliance as a whole.

“Nato’s presence in the Baltic region must continue and increase,” Mr Roivas stressed this week in the US, where he was meeting defence companies about future deals.

Baltic forces on their own stand no chance of seeing off a full-scale Russian attack for long. But their ability to fend off Moscow until Nato could scramble a broader response is decisive, analysts say.

“If the Baltic states are attacked, there will be a certain response time before Nato allies react,” said Aleksandras Matonis, Lithuanian defence analyst .

“The first wave of aggression must be met and repelled by (Baltic) countries using their own defence capacities.”

The Baltics have thus made big-ticket military purchases and upped their defence budgets since Moscow annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and offered support for rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Sven Mikser, Estonian defence minister, on Tuesday sealed the biggest military procurement in his country’s history, worth 138 million euros (£110 million).

The deal sees the nation of 1.3 million people buy 44 CV90 combat vehicles and six Leopard tanks from the Netherlands.

It comes a month after Mikser agreed a contract worth 40 million euros with the US to buy 40 Stinger missile systems.

putin , russia octupus cartoon
Russia under President Vladimir Putin is losing fans across the world at a precipitous rate, according to a BBC study. Russia’s meddling in Ukraine has delivered a wake-up call on defense spending to small Baltic states .

Estonia also has an order for self-propelled guns in the works, he told AFP.

Latvia meanwhile bought 123 combat vehicles for 48 million euros from Britain in August and in November agreed to a four-million-euro deal with Norway for 800 Carl Gustav anti-tank weapons, plus 100 trucks.

Lithuania for its part bought a 34-million-euro GROM air defence system from Poland in September and a month later said it would spend 16 million euros on a fresh supply of Javelin anti-tank missiles from the US.

That brings the total Baltic military spending on hardware to 300 million euros in six months.

Politicians have “significantly changed” their defence spending rhetoric because of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, defence expert Kristine Rudzite-Stejskala wrote in a report for the Latvian Institute for International Affairs.

Estonia – one of only a handful Nato members that actually meet the grouping’s two-percent-of-GDP rule – plans to raise its defence budget to 2.05 percent.

Lithuania plans to raise its budget next year to 1.1 percent from 0.89, while Latvia intends no less than one percent after its current 0.91 percent.

But the amount the Baltics can spend on defence – 1.2 billion euros combined in 2014 – pales in comparison to Russia’s 60 billion euros, or 3.4 percent of GDP.

The Daily Telegraph

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27 responses to “Scared of expansionist Russia ,Baltic states spend big on defence”

  1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
    Michaelinlondon1234

    The evil nato marched its military in to the Baltic region and Russia responds

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      As opposed to the ‘good Nato’ of which London is a part. ?
      You could become, also, MichaelInCrimea, for a nice change.
      But you MUST admit that, at least in the ‘Arms Business’, there are people working for a change. It’s all good for economies, right? Merry Christmas.

      1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
        nagy_michael2

        Good one 5th

      2. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
        Michaelinlondon1234

        I have encouraged every one to launch a first nuclear strike.
        Merry Christmas

    2. runs with scissors Avatar
      runs with scissors

      _…The evil nato marched its military in to the Baltic region and Russia responds…_

      you’re joking, mate.

      1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
        Michaelinlondon1234

        Not one bit. I have been listening, watching the scare warmongering they do. The US arms sales/ training, If I had been in Russian shoes I would have launched a nuclear strike on Washington by now.

        1. I thought Putin was the dangerous man, but it looks like you are more dangerous. Obviously you have no idea what nuclear strikes are and what they can do.

          1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
            Michaelinlondon1234

            I grew up with the promise by the US state department of an all out Nuclear war in the 60’s 70’s, Fully aware of what it will do.
            Sick and tired of the evil and lies that come out of that place so launch.

          2. The US state department never promised an all out Nuclear war in the 60’s 70’s.
            It looks like you are dreaming about having your 72 virgins, but very few here share your dream. I doubt you live in London

          3. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
            Michaelinlondon1234

            I grew up with it. Nothing about virgins mentioned then it was the cold war.

        2. runs with scissors Avatar
          runs with scissors

          whatever, ivan from moscow.

          baltic states are in nato because we want to be there. and US forces are here because we asked them to be here. and I’m glad that we train with them.

          it’s russia’s fault that we ever needed to go that far.

          1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
            Michaelinlondon1234

            The only good American is a dead American.

          2. runs with scissors Avatar
            runs with scissors

            so it appears that it is you who is the fascist here.

          3. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
            Michaelinlondon1234

            Early 20th century insults just show how backward thinking you are. I have argued for years for Poland to stay neutral and concentrate on trade. What I did not account for is the US government bribing and corrupting every one in politics and the polish mil.
            Poland is no lose to Russia and the polish can all move to the US. If I was living in poland today in there situation I would before the government uses them as cannon fodder.

          4. runs with scissors Avatar
            runs with scissors

            _…Early 20th century insults…_

            Going by that logic, Russia is still in early 20th century because the word fascist is used there very frequently these days. :D:DD:D: and considering what you just said about americans – OH BOY, HYPOCRISY AT ITS FINEST

            _… I have argued for years for Poland to stay neutral and concentrate on
            trade…._

            Blah blah blah try harder, Ivan.

          5. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
            Michaelinlondon1234

            Ylou are the reason why I think the only good american is a dead one. Israeli’s no diferent.
            And Iwas born in the west…. arsexxxx

          6. runs with scissors Avatar
            runs with scissors

            I am not an American.

          7. 5thDrawer Avatar

            He thinks we’re all Americans ….

          8. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Just a true Anarchist …

  2. Putin is a dangerous man . 1 Crimea is one too many . “Russia’s meddling in Ukraine has delivered a wake-up call on defense spending to small Baltic states” . I think the Baltic states are doing the right thing , even if NATO is willing to help. Just like in the case of Crimea, during the time of the Soviet Union Russians were encouraged to
    migrate into other Soviet republics such as the three Baltic States. After its collapse, Russian migrants reportedly became a problematic issue for the Baltic states ….for obvious reasons.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Two sites of interest …. now …. and ‘then’ under Stalin.
      When people were ‘relocated’, they were replaced by others also forcibly relocated, even if Russian.
      http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Ukraine-MIGRATION.html
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_transfer_in_the_Soviet_Union

      Stalin didn’t worry if almost half of them died because of it.
      As Putin is experiencing, it didn’t exactly make for happy homogenous mixes.

      1. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
        Michaelinlondon1234

        When Europeans migrated/Invaded the Americas almost the whole of the existing population died

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          Which is why I’m not going to Africa … I don’t want any of their diseases latching on and coming back here with me, like they and European ones did in 1500. 🙂

    2. Michaelinlondon1234 Avatar
      Michaelinlondon1234

      The only good American is a dead one

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