Estonia is training a new army for a Russia invasion

Estonia is training a new army for a Russia invasion

[Music] when the duty calls I’m not afraid of it Estonia is preparing for conflict we have seen Russians in Ukraine and you’re ready for whatever may come all is ready and training starts young these skills are important for the future so you want to join the Army maybe I hope so every school student in the country is learning about defense we are still scared because of what happened to Ukraine Estonia is a nation braced for anything this is our land this is our home and we’re going to hold it this small country on Putin’s doorstep is urging NATO to do more they only take their steps if they think that we are weak enough because if Russia wins in Ukraine they could be next so we’ve just landed in Estonia one of the smallest countries in NATO but also one that spends the most on defense I’m here to find out why that is and in particular why they’re teaching school kids how to prepare for a crisis is this nation really worried about an Invasion From Russia and who are the people ready to fight [Music] back our first stop is here deep in the forest of Southern Estonia where hundreds of school students are training in the blazing sun it’s all part of a course that’s now mandatory for everyone under 18 I’ve always been interested in military nature I could like test myself physically emotionally everything and like prepare myself for the future if we compare ourselves to other countries then we are really small and uh we really need the people and the training and experience to get through it if we need teenagers now have to take up 35 hours of Defense Education it means being taught survival skills first aid and learning about a range of new Air Raid Sirens Estonia is a nation bolstering its we are still scared because of what happened to Ukraine and there is a lot of war and a lot of politics it’s really really scary do you worry about the threat from Russia I do a bit actually because well what’s kind of stopping them so you feel like the war in Ukraine has had an impact the least it has done it has a bit United the people it has uh brought down the part of reality that we don’t live in a time of Peace it’s not just practical skills they are learning it’s their country country’s history making sure they know what modern Estonia stands for where it comes from and what they are fighting to protect estonia’s recent history has often been one decided by other powers it was furiously fought over and occupied by both the Russians and Nazis throughout World War II and then became part of the Soviet Union thousands were executed or deported during those decades as Russia restructured the country in its image the the Soviet tanks finally began leaving the Baltic republics in 1991 as the USSR collapsed and Russian tanks rolled out of the Cities Estonia gained independence signs of that Soviet era live on across the country but Estonia is moving on from its troubled history statues that once dominated Town squares now lie in this graveyard the country is prospering as a member of the European Union and NATO but that past is not forgotten and forms part of the defense curricul most of it takes place in classrooms like this one with over 150 schools and more than 6,000 students learning every year this generation is truly you know the the generation that has lived in a fury country and uh they know nothing but I think this uh Ukrainian War shows very uh very vividly that uh the danger is always here and anything can happen in this world one ‘s Next Generation learn the value of their democracy others are preparing for the battle to defend it we’re traveling to meet a group of reservist training with the Estonian Defense League a voluntary organization who make sure their military skills are up to dat each member here is from the local area learning how best to defend their own land which could become the front line against Russia we have seen Russians in Ukraine how they move how they operate how they fight we get the knowledge we think about it and maybe we do some adjustments and you’re ready for whatever may come all is ready before the war in Ukraine NATO’s plan was for a nation like Estonia if it was invaded to be overrun and then liberated after 180 days now occupation is no longer an option and with Russia ready to sustain the war in Ukraine for as long as it takes this is about having a strong deterrence that from the Army all the way on down to Citizens Estonian will not fall these reservists are well aware that they could be the first people to face an invasion and there is a sense here that estonia’s allies are not taking the Russian threat seriously and not sending enough Aid to Ukraine it’s taken too much time for me personally uh to understand what we must do what we all must do collectively to end this thing I’m a good example so if you want something to get done you have to do it yourself it’s a sad thing that it’s taken the war in Ukraine for other countries to understand what you’ve been saying it’s life like we say it’s life sometimes we have we have to have like tough times to realize what kind of life we have and what we have to be aware of and what we have to be prepared of away from the forest estonia’s Capital tellin this country is one of NATO’s biggest Spenders despite being one of the least populated Nations prime minister Kaya Callis is one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters she sees their war with Russia as an existential threat not just to her country but to the whole of Europe if we are not able to help Ukraine militarily enough uh then you know Russia might move further and they only take their steps if they think that we are weak enough uh so you know weakness is provoking the aggressor not the strength but do you think this is a really important Tipping Point that Ukraine could lose the war this is a worrying time I was uh last week in a in a panel with a uh historian who who compared this situation to 1938 uh if the Czech government would have the arms to fight the Germans then there would never be the second World War uh but they didn’t have that so it went further uh further so so so his point was that it’s up to us uh to make sure that 1939 uh does not repeat itself is there a point where in order for Ukraine not to lose you are going to have to send NATO troops to train ukrainians in Ukraine or even send NATO troops to fight if we would see to the future I mean 5 years from now then we would know what was the right decision at this moment like we know in history okay if they would have done that you know know it would have been different but we don’t know that we don’t see to the future but if it is 1938 yeah yeah no true but but the different leaders see differently so you’re you wouldn’t rule out as you’ve said before sending Estonian troops to train Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine uh I wouldn’t rule out anything at this moment because including sending troops to fight including uh I mean including all the steps because if we are ruling out anything then we are only giving uh signals to Russia from the teenagers camouflage in the forests to the reservists practicing their aim this small btic nation is building a protective Fortress like the one found in Talon’s Oldtown a symbol of estonia’s past and its present because if Ukraine loses NATO loses and Estonia could be next they know that all this is on the line

Estonia is preparing for conflict with Russia, because if Putin wins in Ukraine, they could be next.

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Every school student in the country is learning about defence and every man aged between 18 and 29 is conscripted to serve for up to a year in the military.

Estonia is urging Nato to do more – because Russia’s standing army is bigger than the country’s entire population, and war could be coming.

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