Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia Launch Baltic Defense Line Project
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have signed an agreement to begin a joint project constructing bunkers and other fortifications on their borders with Russia.
The agreement was signed on January 19, during a meeting of the three nations’ defense ministers in Riga. Under the project, the three Baltic nations will build “anti-mobility infrastructure elements” including bunkers, support points and distribution lines along the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s external borders with Russia.
“To build the anti-mobility defensive installations is a carefully considered and thought-out project, the need of which stems from the current security situation. Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown that, in addition to equipment, ammunition, and manpower, physical defensive installations on the border are also needed to defend Estonia from the first meter,” said Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defence of Estonia, emphasizing that the fortifications would be built to prevent a regional conflict. “We are undertaking this effort so that the people of Estonia can feel safe, but if the slightest risk emerged, we would be ready for various developments more promptly,” Pevkur added.
In a press release issued after the meeting, the Estonian defense ministry said that the project is in line with decisions made at the NATO Madrid Summit, which emphasized that NATO members must be ready to defend their territory “from the first meter”. The cooperative nature of the project also meets the summit’s recommendations for the development of new plans for regional defense, with the Baltic nations considered a single area of operations.
The Estonian defense ministry has provided some initial details for how it intends to implement the project, stating that “in peacetime, no explosives, cutting wires or other obstacles are placed on the border of Estonia”. Kaido Tiitus, adviser to the deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Defense for Defense Readiness, told Estonian public broadcaster ERR that fortification construction is expected to begin in 2025, depending on progress with land purchases and cooperation with local communities.
While none of the governments have said how many bunkers and other fortifications will be built, Estonian defense ministry and military officials, that spoke to the Postimees newspaper, estimate that around 600 bunkers will be built in Estonia alone.