800 British troops due to be stationed in the Baltic state as part of one of biggest deployments to eastern Europe in decades

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

British troops have arrived in Estonia as part of a major Nato mission in the Baltic states to deter Russian aggression. The first batch ofhas arrived in Estonia to serve as part of theand part of "wider efforts to defend the alliance" from the perceived threat from Moscow.in Oxfordshire landed at the Amari airbase near Tallinn on Friday night where they were welcomed by the UK's Ambassador Bubbear Theresa and the 1st Infantry Brigade commander of Estonian forces Colonel Veiko-Vello Palm. British officials say that this new deployment, which will be fully in place by April, will be the largest British deployment in Europe since the end of the Cold War. The 120 soldiers are fundamental to setting up a UK headquarters in the country before the rest of the UK deployment arrives next month, increasing the total number of troops in Estonia to around 800. UK troops will work alongside French and Danish forces to "provide a proportionate, defensive, and combat capable force to defend our Nato ally and deter any form of hostile activity against the Alliance", the Ministry of Defence said. NATO’s forces in Estonia are just one of four multinational battalion-size battle groups which the alliance started positioning earlier this year in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland on a rotational basis. The defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, said: “In the face of an increasingly assertive Russia, Nato is stepping up its commitment to collective defence. “British troops will play a leading role in Estonia and support our US allies in Poland, as part of wider efforts to defend NATO.”

Besides stretching its reach into Eastern Europe, NATO is also beefing up its presence in the Black Sea region — on land, at sea, and in the air with several countries already contributing their forces and expertise. Around 300 UK vehicles were also transported from the UK this week by ferry headed for Estonia, including Challenger 2 tanks, Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, and AS90 self-propelled artillery pieces.
Eight hundred British Army troops arrive in Estonia as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.