Major General Riho Ühtegi, the commander of the Estonian Defence League, a volunteer corps, said in a speech made at the Victory Day celebrations in Viljandi on 23 June that even though Russia was carrying out a military attack on Ukraine, Estonia’s security situation has never been as secure as it is now.
Ühtegi recalled that 30 years ago, president Lennart Meri announced that from now on, the Victory Day parade would be organised alternately in all towns of Estonia.
“At that time in 1993, we were not afraid of anyone, although Russian troops were still in Estonia and we clearly remembered how in 1991 we had gone bare-handed against the Pihkva air assault forces. In the following thirty years, Russia has constantly proven that its political and military ambitions have not disappeared. The fact that Russia fights dirty and brutally should not be news either. The past decades include the wars in Chechnya, the war in Georgia, as well as the invasion of Ukraine that began in 2014, not to mention various other conflicts in which Russian troops have participated,” Ühtegi said.
“To those who live in constant fear of Russia today, I will say one thing – in the meantime, Estonia has neither moved closer nor further away from Russia, so the threat of war is not greater for us today than before, rather our security situation is safer today than ever before. And I am not saying this because Russia has moved most of its troops and military equipment away from our borders to the war in Ukraine, but because during three decades we have been able to build up a considerable military defence capacity of our own and thanks to a successful foreign policy we have gained powerful allies,” he added.
He pointed out that the planes of various NATO countries guarding the skies of Estonia, the units of the United Kingdom, Denmark and France, have become a daily part of Estonian exercises.
Military cooperation best ever
“Also, historically, the military cooperation of the Baltic Sea countries has never been as good as it is today. And I am not only talking about our good partners Latvia, Lithuania or Poland, with whom we have absolutely the same understanding of the region’s security. Now that Finland is already a member of NATO and Sweden is becoming one, our security picture here on the shores of the Baltic Sea will change even more, because it is becoming the inland sea of the alliance, which can be kept under control from both shores with modern surveillance and weapon systems,” the Defence League chief said.
According to him, long-term cooperation with the United States should also be highlighted separately.
“This spring, we celebrated 30 years since the beginning of military cooperation with the Maryland National Guard, which laid the foundation for the western development of the Estonian defense forces,” Ühtegi said.
At the same time, he said one cannot be satisfied with the current situation.
“Just as we managed to restore our freedom as a united effort of the entire nation, today our biggest security guarantee is our own will to defend, which, despite high indicators, is developing black spots,” Ühtegi said. “In that speech 30 years ago, president Meri formulated very well the recipe for the preservation of our freedom. He said, ‘Defence forces are not guns or tanks, but first and foremost the centuries-old will of the Estonian people to live freely and independently. Independence does not depend on the number of weapons. Independence lives first of all in the citizen itself, in the balanced acceptance of their rights and responsibilities, in their will to act as a citizen and in their united will to act as a state’.”
Ühtegi said that, as the commander of the Defence League and as a citizen of the Republic of Estonia, he cannot be satisfied that people are beginning to forget these wise words.
Dangerous trends are spreading
“Polarisation of society, deepening pessimism and meanness, hostile remarks on national defense issues, failure to fulfill one’s national defence duties, and encapsulation in an echo chamber – this is only part of the dangerous trends that are spreading. I feel sorry and sometimes even ashamed for those people who, due to personal offence, do not raise the Estonian flag on our national flag day, call our defence forces an occupation army, or publicly announce on social media that they will not defend this country. I ask them, what kind of a country do they want to defend then? There are only two options – their own country or that of a foreigner, and let them know that their domestic policy beliefs will give them no other choice,” Ühtegi said.
According to him, fortunately there are not too many such extreme views, but it is also alarming when it is said that only the war in Ukraine made it clear to young men why military service is needed.
“If this is really the case, we have left out important things in education at home. How much have we told our children about the price of freedom? How many of us even know the story of this monument to those who fell in the War of Independence, which we reopened this morning on this very square? It is always harder to fight for freedom than it is to maintain it,” Ühtegi said.
But Ühtegi said that, fortunately, Estonia also has many positive examples.
“More than 4,500 volunteers have joined the Defence League in a year and a half, the will to defend of those taking part in reservist training gatherings is higher than ever before, and the belief that it is possible to defend the country is remarkably high. As the president already mentioned in his speech, at the beginning of the week we recognised dozens of companies that have supported reservists in various ways or kept them on full pay for the duration of the training gathering. This kind of activity is also a contribution to national defence,” Ühtegi said.
In his speech, the Defence League chief also addressed current and future state leaders.
“Your balanced and dignified actions create the best conditions for the people to want to protect their country even more. Rule us intelligently and together we will preserve what we achieved in 1991, and let our defence will and readiness be high, because this is the best way to protect Estonia from war. I even believe that, thanks to this, we have been free again for 32 years,” Ühtegi added.
