Ukraine cease-fire will send thousands of Russian troops to NATO borders, Baltic states warn

A cease-fire in Ukraine will result in Russia re-deploying more than half of its frontline troops to NATO’s borders, and will massively increase the security threat in the Baltic, defense ministers of the small former Soviet states warned.Of the estimated 600,000 Russian troops believed to currently be in Ukraine, at least 300,000 of them would likely be sent to the borders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, senior politicians in those countries claimed.Those states are the smallest NATO member states that border Russia, with a combined population of about 6 million people.“We all understand that when the war in Ukraine will be stopped, Russia will redistribute its forces very quickly,” Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pekvur told the Financial Times.

“That means also the threat level will increase significantly very quickly.”Tensions in the region remain at record highs over fears Russia will use the halt in fighting to pressure the other western-aligned countries on its borders, including Finland.“Let’s not have any illusions.Let’s not lie to ourselves that Russia is going to be done after Ukraine,” Lithuania’s Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told the Financial Times this week.

“Russia will use this time following a cease-fire to speed up its military capabilities.They already have a huge, battlefield-trained army, which is going to get even bigger.”Moscow is expected to hold large-scale military exercises close to NATO’s Baltic borders in both Russia and Belarus this fall.Held every four years, the “Zapad” drills simulate a conflict between Russia and NATO and see tens of thousands of troops, aircraft, and machinery deployed.This year’s exercises will be the first held since the Russian invasion of Ukraine over three years ago.The Baltic leaders also warned that putting NATO member states’ troops in Ukraine for a peace-keeping mission would also risk “jeopardizing” security in the region.“We cannot jeopardize t...