War vs Russia (Ukraine by proxy)

[Juri 486]

I am going to copy here a very lengthy article from our Estonian newspaper and it shares some light on things how we knew what would happen, but nobody really wanted to see it. 

 

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GREAT INSIGHT IN THE SECRET WORLD HOW IS WARTIME CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN ESTONIA? THE NEXT SIX MONTHS MAY DETERMINE OUR FUTURE

For two weeks, Eero Epner observed and interviewed key figures in Estonian foreign policy, and as a result, Ekspress will publish a comprehensive insight into how our country works in wartime.

A REFUGEE

Valja lived in a small house, but there was a garden around the house. Valja and her husband planted many trees there. In the end, there were 40 of them and all the young people. In the spring, just sit in the garden and see how they suck water from the ground and turn green. They did not live far from Kiev, Valja has been there a lot. "No matter where you look, the golden church domes are rustling everywhere," he says, and begins to cry again.

When the bombs started to fall, Valja couldn't even grab a pillow, a hooded dress and go home - maybe forever. And with him a 16-year-old son. The man did not come along, the man stayed there, stepped out of the garden with the young disabled and walked in the other direction. In the third direction went the owner of a large house, where Valja was cleaning - she was on a plane and she is now in Dubai.

Valja arrived in Estonia quickly. In less than a week, Valja found a new job in Estonia, trying to cope, but you put some candy in front of her and there are already tears in her eyes. Luxury!

According to Valja, Tallinn is beautiful. This old town! It's like a miracle! If his son could still go to school, everything would be almost… But he doesn't dare to do anything more than he could almost hope for. She talks to her husband every day and knows that the man is alive. He's alive today.

When Valja walks in the city and an airplane flies over, Valja becomes insanely afraid. No one notices anything around, they walk and talk, but Valja pulls something inside and her eyes look at the sky in panic.

When our plane with the Prime Minister arrives in Tallinn that evening, I hope that Valja is somewhere in a warm room and will not hear us fly to Strasbourg with important faces to talk about multilateralism and other foreign words that say nothing to Valja.

PREPARING FOR WAR

The new era of Estonian security began in the early morning of February 24 at 5 am, when there was still bag darkness outside. The telephone of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas rang and the Prime Minister of Lithuania was on the other end of the phone. "I can't believe it," said the Lithuanian, "is it really happening?" Then the Latvian prime minister called. And then we called from Estonia. Kaja Kallas was not surprised. He had already argued with a major intelligence chief last weekend and said war was probably coming. But in spite of everything, Kallas had hoped that he would be wrong.

 

When Gerrit Mäesalu , the adviser to the Prime Minister, woke up after the phone vibrated, only one word appeared from the Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop - "It started". Mäesalu sat on the couch and felt disgust. They were all waiting for the war, but not for that. Then he took the computer, opened the lid, and did not go to bed until two days later.

 

Preparations for the war began in Estonia already in November. A few months earlier, the chancellors visited Kiev and listened to EU Ambassador Matti Maasikas tell them that Ukraine's move to the West was the biggest geopolitical shift of our time. Peter was among those who thought it meant war. "Putin does not want to be a tsar who will lose Ukraine," he said.

All Russian rulers have always wanted to be tsars. When Lennart Meri traveled to the Kremlin in 1994 to arrange the withdrawal of the Russian army, Boris Yeltsin meanwhile invited him to take a walk in the corridors of the colossus. "Let's leave the officials straight here," he had said, and made a tour of Meri. And then at one point Meril shrugged and said he was calling for a boat ride on the Volga. Good thing it could be against a little public transport. But Meri knew it was a symbol - the Tsars sailed on the Volga.

When U.S. intelligence began releasing information in November, many were convinced that some form of war was inevitable. The State Chancellery began to develop plans together with the ministries, and they were ready before Christmas. All important people were now available 24 hours a day. The list of necessary decisions had been prepared in advance and the messages addressed to the public had been considered. Plans were drawn up on the impact of the war on Estonia. The economic forecasts alone took 40 pages, and state agencies and rural municipalities and cities were gradually being prepared.

ALL RUSSIAN RULERS HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE TSARS.

Plans for the arrival of the refugees were also drawn up and numbered 150,000. It was all kept secret for the time being. The public's sense of danger and unanimity at the time was not enough to swallow the news. The previous refugee crisis had shattered society and could no longer be risked. "It's been a strange crisis," says Peterkop, "and we've been able to prepare for it for several months."

External relations were decisively intensified. First of all, the Prime Minister, but also the Foreign Minister, could be seen much more often at Tallinn Airport, from where they flew (mostly with several transfers) to some European capitals. The interviews were not expected, but requested, and they no longer talked about Estonian infantry who can program, but about Russia. "Our task was to explain to the West the seriousness of the situation," says Peterkop, "and to discourage Russia from doing so." Even if the hope of doing so had diminished, it was already very small.

On the first day of the new year, Peterkop went to the prime minister and said that all intelligence sources confirmed that the war would break out in about a month. Info spread. People working in high government offices have known each other for years, information flows quickly and smoothly, only that they no longer meet in cafes or chat on WhatsApp. "It was no longer safe," the secretary of state said.

A few weeks later, it was decided to allocate hundreds of millions more to national defense, and in mid-January, the Prime Minister addressed the Riigikogu on national security. On the advice of advisers, he avoided replacing the word "war" with phrases such as "tensions," "threats," or "military influence." Nevertheless, at least one Adviser to the Prime Minister received messages throughout January and February from both government officials and others accusing excessive fear. When Kaja Kallas went to the "Current Camera" after her speech, the news anchor, who is usually sensitive to foreign policy, repeatedly asked why she was trying to collect domestic political points, because there is no war on the horizon.

Many government officials tell me about this interview, but the public's misunderstanding must be understood - because the public did not know what they knew.

THE FIRST HOURS OF THE WAR

23.On the evening of February, Taimar Peterkop was at an apartment party in Tallinn. Since the next day was to be free, the celebration of the independence birthday was already celebrated. They took drinks, joked - the usual situation, as they were held every night in Kyiv and Mariupol. At around seven o'clock, Peterkop's special security phone rang. You cannot load apps into it, and you can only visit certain websites. This phone cannot be intercepted and cannot be called with a special application. If the phone is lost, the entire contents of the device will be deleted. This is done remotely, just as everything is monitored remotely on your phone. When I ask who does this from a distance, Peterkop answers succinctly, "Someone."

That night Peter was told that the war would break out at night. There had been such disturbances before, but this time there was a certain way of speaking. Peterkop went to another room and called Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. This was not normal. The office of Prime Minister is not the easiest, and the Secretary of State dials his number only when absolutely necessary. This time there was a need.

"We're ready tonight," Peterkop said. "Okay, clear," the prime minister replied, and the secretary of state felt a little tired. In recent months, Kallas had traveled much more than before and had just given presentations in Munich. He had thought that he could relax a bit in the afternoon and, as usual, read some books before going to bed. Until it was said that war would begin.

Then the ministers were called and the phones were ordered to be kept inside that night. It was needed around five o'clock. "I heard through a dream that the phone was vibrating," says Minister of Culture Tiit Terik . "When I saw where the call was coming from, I realized that only bad messages could come at this time of day."

A government meeting over the phone that night ran quickly. Authorizing Jüri Luige to demand defense plans for NATO had been decided earlier, but it could not be done earlier - the decision should have been secret to avoid panic, but in Estonia the government's decisions are public. Ministers were also told that they would no longer meet once a week, but no longer at Stenbock House, but at the shelter. It was only completed a few months ago. The windows of the house are blocked and no telephones or computers are brought with them. In case of emergency, the house can be entered - or exited - through an underground tunnel.

Then the crisis session ended and we went to Toompea, where an hour and a half later, blue and white was raised in honor of the republic's birthday. As Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop stood there with his wife and children, he felt that it was not fear but great dark depression. "I was wondering how much an obsessed person can do evil to the world," Peterkop says three weeks later, and tears well up in his eyes. She swallows, takes a handkerchief and tries to collect herself. For although the war came as no surprise to him, the hope was long.

In the evening, Kaja Kallas was presented with more than a hundred interview requests from abroad (she managed to give only three comments, two to ERR and one to the BBC). His followers on Twitter had grown by about 10,000 people (more than 20 million people had seen his posts in a month). Before the meeting of European leaders this afternoon, he called Boris Johnson , and the moment Kallas spoke with the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denõss Šmõhal , he sent a laconic message to his foreign adviser, "I'm talking. Crazy ”.

The phones of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense were red. Estonia's international relations had started with unprecedented momentum, and in the following days a small circle of people emerged, in whose hands the most important routes are concentrated.

CHANCELLORS

Three people are most talked about: Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and two chancellors, who are sometimes described as "alpha men". Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov and Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense Kusti Salmare new in their positions, in total they have less than 700 days of experience as chancellors, but they have worked in the field for a long time (including Vseviov as the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense for more than two and a half years) and not only in Estonia. It gives them international experience, security and a network of relationships. Their manners are characterized by being fast, clear and, most importantly, during the war - confident and strong. Decisions are not mutilated, postponed or withdrawn, and perhaps officials can do so rather than politicians who constantly stare at ratings - because ratings do not rest during war.

Jonatan Vseviov appoints Kaja Kallas as his main advisor alongside his father and advisors. "Jonatan is currently directing the foreign relations of the entire Estonian state," says Celia Kuningas-Saagpakk , the foreign adviser to the president, who has worked with her for many years . "She is brilliant, talented, grabs the air and can convince you of everything." Meetings are now more open, minutes are being shared, Vseviov is playing with open cards and this is crucial in a war. "He thinks very strategically and not only today, but in two weeks or several months," says Liis Lipre-Järma, Foreign Adviser to the Prime Minister.. "In the current crisis, Jonatan is giving a strategic advance warning to the Estonian state about the chancellor's salary," adds one high-ranking state official. Vseviov is said to win every dispute, which is all the easier because there are not many disputes, because as an extremely systematic person, he is simply usually already right.

Vseviov was not at all surprised when he was informed of the large-scale war in the early morning of February 24. The secret intelligence had been very detailed and the Estonian diplomats had been dealing with the Russian threat long enough that the eyebrows could stay in place and not rise to the forehead in astonishment. Vseviov had already launched the first phase of Estonia's new kind of foreign relations several months earlier, where the flow and sharing of information was intended to ensure the unity of the Allies. A second phase was launched in December to help find a diplomatic solution. "I didn't believe it," Vseviov now admits. "After so much preparation for war, war cannot be prevented by talking alone. "must be completely defeated - and he must understand that as such. "The world will never be the same again," says Vseviov, who speaks quickly, sharply and passionately, despite the late evening and the illness he has suffered.

Kusti Salm talks to foreign partners about the presence of NATO forces now and after the war. "These conversations are not easy," says Salm. "If it were easy, the troops would already be here and we would not have to travel around Europe." Nevertheless, 1,300 soldiers have already come to Estonia, not to mention planes.

For Salmi, who is tall and has a strong vision, war is nothing new. "We have always asked ourselves: how will we win the next war," says Salm, "Estonia is not Belgium, we must always be ready for war." First, supporting Ukraine with weapons. Estonia has given them for more than 200 million euros, and only the United States and Great Britain have done more in the world. When the Commander of the US Defense Forces heard about the amount of Estonian anti-tank mines in the suburbs of New York, he could not believe it and asked General Martin Heremseveral times over. Second, the sharp rise in defense spending. Today, the government has 810 million euros on the table for decision, which is more than an annual budget. "Most of my energy has gone there," says Salm. All political parties have had to be persuaded that a maximum of EUR 20 million has been allocated outside the budget so far. No lengthy procurement procedures are expected, with almost EUR 1 billion soon to be covered by contracts, which means exceptional speed.

These two steps were supposed to be pebbles thrown into world politics that would create larger circles around them. "Estonia's task is to set an example with its actions," says Kusti Salm. It is much easier to tell other countries to increase their defense budgets than they did a few weeks earlier.

The Estonian state wanted to give Howitzers and anti-tank missiles to Ukraine at the end of last year, but Finland and Germany had to give permission. There were discussions, meetings, collective reflections. It seemed unheard of for anyone in Europe to give Ukraine weapons that will not stop, but will certainly blow up some Russian tanks soon. Things dragged on and according to some sources, Estonia did not have time to wait for permission. The weapons were set in motion before all the final confirmations came. When I ask Kusti Salmi if this is true, he takes a long break. "We were guided by how to support Ukraine as quickly and effectively as possible," he then forms a perfect sentence, taking nuts from the table for the first and last time with an expressionless face.

This step did have consequences for the whole of Europe. One month before the outbreak of the war, Estonia's footsteps were noticed and discussions began in the Western public. Estonian Ambassador to Germany Alar Streimann describes the debate as "very broad", not by the embassy or the government, but by the local press and politicians. When the war did begin, the warm air was turned away and action could be taken. A very high-ranking official of the German Ministry of Defense only recently confessed to Salmi that, thanks in large part to Estonia, Germany decided to give Ukraine not real helmets and feathers, but real weapons. And Germany was probably not the only one who noticed and repeated Estonia 's move.

PRESIDENT

The president, who usually bears a heavy burden in foreign relations, is not at the forefront at the moment, and that is understandable, because a more solemn kind of meeting is part of peacetime. In an earlier life, moreover, Alar Karis was involved in planting human genes into mice, not in international relations.

Nevertheless, Karis has not retreated, but vice versa. Ever since the fateful SMS arrived on his buzzing phone on the morning of February 24 and he turned the TV on to CNN and the BBC, he and his advisers have been increasingly looking for ways to meet, initiate, share information and deliver messages. He is characterized as a person who is able to maintain peace in difficult situations, but who, at the same time, is constantly looking for new means and forms as a curious person. It is sometimes incomprehensible to him why certain stories have to be repeated unchanged and endlessly, but that is inevitable. When I watch Kaja Kallas in Strasbourg for a day, he says exactly the same wording six times in seven hours: 'we do not want to extend the war, but to end it ' .

Alar Karis's main influence in foreign relations is considered to be his foreign adviser, long-term diplomat Celia Kuningas-Saagpakki. King Saagpakki is characterized as a hard-working, straightforward and insightful person who wants to see results. When he wanted to hold an exhibition of Konrad Mägi in Rome years ago, he was told twice in a large museum. He then went through all the old members of the museum council one by one and finally convinced the museum director.

As an adviser, he drafted a foreign policy "runway" for Alar Karis, with more than a dozen major messages from maintaining Western unity to climate policy. The president's foreign visits should have started in the Baltics, but extended to Brussels, Washington and eventually even Mongolia. The President is by no means a mere representative in King Saagpak's view, especially since he was accustomed to such a volume and pace while working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Until August last year, it felt like a little too much of it all. The withdrawal from Afghanistan went crazy, including forcing him to negotiate the mobile numbers of Taliban leaders and meet them in the open-walled cabin on the second floor of a hotel in Qatar. Exciting - but very tiring in piles.

Already in October, he highlighted the need to keep Russia's aggression against Ukraine on the world agenda. King Saagpakk has been dealing with Russia for decades and says calmly that he has never been mistaken about the next steps of the Russians. Until the end of February. "I was sure they would go in," says King Saagpack, "but I was also convinced that they would not bomb Kiev."

His phone rang at 5 a.m. on the night of February 24. On the other side of the line was a special unit from the Foreign Ministry, who first congratulated him on his birthday and announced that the war had begun. The Office of the President was able to expect this to some extent. Decisions were prepared, steps were thought through, although a full-scale war was not expected, and it was hoped that nothing so crazy would happen. "We all made mistakes," says King-Sagittarius. "I thought the Russians were rational, Putin thought he would take Ukraine quickly, and most European countries were convinced that they would never give arms to Ukraine." By the evening of February 24, all views had changed irreversibly.

That evening, after countless meetings, Kuningas-Saagpakk began to go to the anniversary of the republic towards Estonia. Wearing an evening dress, he left Kadriorg Palace when the phone rang and the area code for Ukraine appeared on the screen. The foreign adviser had tried to find a way to talk to Volodymyr Zelensky and Karis at the end of the day, and now he was told that Zelensky would have a free moment.

The presidents of Estonia and Ukraine had met only two days earlier in Kyiv. The visit was due to take place at the end of March, but intelligence became increasingly gloomy and by 17 February it was clear that the trip could no longer be postponed. That day was Thursday. Karis flew to Kiev on Tuesday. In the morning at the airport, King Saagpakk was terrified. The president's security team said they had never had to deal with such a threat assessment. But he reminded himself that wars usually break out at night and are back in the evening - hopefully. And Karis was calm, not fluttering. He was convinced that this visit should go.

According to Kuningas-Saagpak, Zelenskõi was very exhausted and tired at the meeting, but still reacted sharply, asking the Estonian president for advice on how to reach the Russian-speaking community in his country. According to Karis, Zelensky was very calm, and even he did not believe in a large-scale war. "Nobody is coming to Kiev," Zelensky told Karis. This is one of the paradoxes of this war: intelligence was distributed more widely, more precisely and for longer than ever before, all heads of state knew more or less the same, but in the end it all came down to what it always was - religion. Alar Karis agreed with Zelensky. He, too, did not believe that such a war could take place, and when he visited the Nordic countries in the first months of the year, he reassured the leaders there, who he felt were too anxious.

 

WHEN KARIS ASKED HOW ESTONIA CAN COMPLETE CUSTOMS FORMALITIES, ZELENSKY SHOUTED EMOTIONALLY: FORGET THE FORMALITIES, BRING EVERYTHING TO THE POLISH BORDER AND PUSH IT OVER!

Barely 48 hours later, Kuningas-Saagpakk ran through the door of the presidential palace in Kadriorg Park in the winter. Alar Karis has just been put on a necklace, which is an amazingly complicated procedure, because the chain tends to slip on his stomach all the time. At that moment, King Saagpack rushed in and handed the iPhone to the president. At the other end of the pipe was the president of Ukraine in a bunker in Kiev, whose hometown was bombed - but here are the free citizens celebrating the country's birthday.

Zelensky could still be heard on the phone at the end of his previous call, then he talked to Karis. King Saagpakk tore a page from the first block of pages, squatted down the table and wrote down everything Zelensky wanted from Europe. He's showing me this page. Even in Estonian and English, words such as "sanctions", "bulletproof vests" and "fuel" are quickly written in capital letters. The call was short, a few minutes. Zelensky was anxious and upset. In previous days, Estonian humanitarian shipments were stuck on the Ukrainian border behind some documents. When Karis asked how Estonia can complete customs formalities, Zelensky shouted emotionally: forget the formalities, bring everything to the Polish border and push it over! Then the call ended.

Kuningas-Saagpakk does not remember anything about the evening anniversary concert. He sat in the Estonian theater, in the lap of a computer, and wrote the president's speech the next day. It was also to be performed in a bunker - but this time in Warsaw.

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

In addition to the above, many ambassadors, the entire diplomatic corps, the military and others are, of course, engaged in Estonia's foreign relations - and for decades now. For example, the former Commander of the Defense Forces, Riho Terras , who woke up early on the morning of 24 February without any telephone calls, is vigorously establishing himself in the European Parliament. His dreams had been restless for a long time, as he was already convinced in November that a large-scale war was coming. Organized MEPs in Ukraine, but many still did not believe in war - or did not want to believe. "Russia was seen as a useful market," says Terras. When he woke up that night nervously, he immediately started watching TV, as he had always done in recent weeks, and so he saw Putin's declaration of war live.

In the Chamber of the European Parliament, Terras always wears the colors of the Ukrainian flag on his chest, the wrinkles between his eyebrows can be seen tens of meters away and he never smiles - because there is no reason. When a representative of our EKRE Friendship Party from Austria enters the podium and starts cursing Ukraine, Terras hits the table with a fist, shouts "Shame!" And "Buu!"

Terras will also be in the Chamber when Prime Minister Kaja Kallas addresses and addresses the European Parliament. This is a rare event. Estonian leaders will have such an opportunity about once every five years. Kallas had been invited several months earlier. The Speaker of the European Parliament , Roberta Metsola , a brilliant and ruthlessly perceptive Maltese politician, whose irony, even in the most pathetic moments, appears in the corner of the mouth, had become a parliamentary leader and wanted to start a new series of speakers. He called Kallas the first speaker. They had once worked on one topic: Kallas was the rapporteur and Metsola his shadow rapporteur.

"Very good," says Terras about Kallas' speech. I hear this assessment many times in Strasbourg. Even if it is a matter of European courtesy, there is no doubt that Estonia's most intense international communicator is currently Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

In the afternoon of February, Kaja Kallas flew to Brussels. At four o'clock, a meeting of European leaders, called the Council, began there. 27 people sit in the same room and decide on the future of Europe. Advisers are not taken in, the doors are closed, the phones are picked up (this was not done before), a bottle of water is placed next to the microphones and talking on open cards. Nothing decides more than personal qualities.

At the moment, the room is full of people who are smarter and dimmer, bolder and more timid, both clearer and darker, whose level is very uneven, from language skills to reasoning skills. But they all have a significant ego because otherwise they would not be here. And at the same time, they save a lot - because they are among them.

According to advisers, Kaja Kallas never tries to leave the table during the councils, not even when there is an urgent need. "We have to be at the table, not on the table," he told them.

This meeting lasted eight hours and according to Kaja Kallas, the people were "white in the face". Some also referred to an interview with Kallas published a few days earlier in the Financial Times, in which he alluded to the naivete of many European leaders. Yes, they told the Estonian Prime Minister. We have been naive.

 

INDEED, SMALL COUNTRIES ARE NOW BEING HEARD ON AN EQUAL FOOTING. THE RETREAT OF ANGELA MERKEL, AMONG OTHERS, HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS.

They hadn't really expected it all. Perhaps out of fright, but perhaps out of a desire to behave tastefully, the big countries were a little modest in discussing sanctions. However, according to some sources, the first sanctions of the Baltic states and Poland turned out to be much tougher than originally planned. According to Kaja Kallas, this was not quite the case. The ambassadors of the countries had already agreed on solutions, and the leaders of the countries had no reason to argue. The consensus was amazing, no one had to be convinced. Even the leader of one of the great powers, who had only had dinner with Kaja Kallas four days earlier and thought that Ukraine should do something to protect the Russian language, was now furious, considered fooled by Putin and spoke the same sentences as Kallas about 100 hours earlier.

Indeed, small countries are now being heard on an equal footing. The retreat of Angela Merkel , among others, has contributed to this . In the past, lessons were spoken and then looked at Merkel, who was a brilliant listener and sinker and was able to come up with all the satisfactory compromises.

There are no clear leaders at the moment, and in addition to Kaja Kallas, there are other skilled speakers in the steering group who are by no means from the biggest countries: the Prime Minister of Latvia, the Prime Ministers of Denmark and the Netherlands, and the very proud Luxembourg Prime Minister. the size of the country to speak of times larger.

Estonia's previous prime ministers have also been at least decent in Europe, and some of them are outstanding, but Kallas had to be from a different league, according to senior officials. He is not only talking about what is directly important for Estonia, but he is shaping European positions much more broadly, starting with Ukraine's accession and ending with sanctions.

At the last NATO summit, Kaja Kallas was given the floor immediately after the President of the United States - and before the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom or the President of France. "The eyes of many opened on February 24," says Taimar Peterkop. "Estonia is currently weighing more in the world than we really are."

MOMENTUM

About three-quarters of Kaja Kallas and his advisers now take up foreign affairs. "Today is a momentum ," says Gerrit Mäesalu modestly. They no longer measure the length of working days, they also work on weekends and at night, but hundreds of people in Estonia do so. "The silence of war and fatigue will come later, we have to run today," says Mäesalu.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made clear recommendations to the Prime Minister to accept all important meetings. They are being agreed at an unprecedented rate. US Secretary of State Antony BlinkenThe visit was known earlier, but the Estonian side only read about the postponement of the day later - no one had time to announce the label. In the past, it could take months or even years to get a talk from the German Chancellor, for example, but recently an invitation came from Berlin, to which an answer was expected within eight hours. Due to lack of time, people fly in business class, because there are flexible tickets and it is very necessary, because the connections from Tallinn are catastrophically poor. If in Poland every minister has the opportunity to use the plane of the President or the Prime Minister to fly to London or Paris at the time of the crisis, then even during the war you have to fly to the metropolises with two connections and hope that the heads of state will still have tickets.

 

"UNTIL NOW, SECURITY HAS BEEN A GREAT INTELLECTUAL CONVERSATION," SAYS KAJA KALLAS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF EUROPE'S LARGEST NEWSPAPERS, THE SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, "BUT NOW IT IS EXISTENTIAL FOR MY COUNTRY."

Immediately after the start of the war, President Alar Karis had to attend a meeting of several presidents in a rather small seminar room in Warsaw (the elbows of the presidents touched there not only figuratively), but the time was constantly changing. In the end, Celia Kuningas-Saagpakk was forced to announce that only one scheduled flight from Tallinn is possible and that all times at this critical moment for Europe are simply not suitable for Estonia. (Finally, Poland sent its presidential plane here, which took our country's leader to Warsaw free of charge. It served Estonians sandwiches and chocolate. Poland has become one of our most important allies.)

Despite the scarcity of air connections, the Prime Minister's schedule is so tight that one of his advisers tells me how he has had serious difficulty finding a time window for peeing abroad. These are no longer courtesy visits, where a gift of juniper butter is given to a partner, but here they want to achieve something for Estonia. "We want more deterrence," says Gerrit Mäesalu, "and we need to talk about Estonia being important for that." "Until now, security has been a great intellectual conversation," says Kaja Kallas in an interview with one of Europe's largest newspapers, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, "but now it is existential for my country."

THE PUBLIC

The interview is squeezed between all sorts of important meetings, but in today's situation, many such requests are accepted. Although they also participate in niche programs aimed only at leaders, they want to consciously talk to a wider audience. It was only recently that a choice had to be made between a major Italian daily and the BBC, and it was decided in favor of the BBC because it was simply more widespread (but later Italians were also interviewed).

Europe does not mean officials and politicians buzzing in a huge house, but people in a small Portuguese town or a Spanish coastal area, because if they do not consider Estonia important, their officials and politicians do not. "We have to talk to the voters of Europe," says Mäesalu, "we have to get into their hearts." When a nationwide referendum on homosexuals was launched, according to various sources, there were clear messages through foreign diplomats that summits could be forgotten. The ridicule of climate issues also did not help. The arrival of a new government has moved us closer to Western Europe, but at the same time it is probably worth looking for one reason, why Kaja Kallas has not become an advocate for Eastern European countries or why journalists there turn to Kallas much less than their Western counterparts. However, it is true that they think the same way about Russia anyway. One of the Baltic heads of state was once asked what he was thinking about during the coronary crisis, and he replied that Russia - because he always thinks of Russia.

 

ONE OF THE BALTIC HEADS OF STATE WAS ONCE ASKED WHAT HE WAS THINKING ABOUT DURING THE CORONARY CRISIS, AND HE REPLIED THAT RUSSIA - BECAUSE HE ALWAYS THINKS OF RUSSIA.

"The lack of Eastern Europe is not a problem," says Taimar Peterkop. "Our focus is on the West. We have to convince the inhabitants of the Hamburg suburbs why it is necessary to support Estonia.

That is why, at the end of last year, a decision was taken to push ourselves more into the picture in Europe. More meetings with European leaders were requested. They were called directly - Kallas has the personal numbers of most of the heads of state, sometimes messages are communicated with each other. However, all this is not limited to decision-makers.

On the recommendation of Jonatan Vseviov and the advisers to the Prime Minister, interviews have been more consciously given to newspapers that are not only read by the tops, but also by the wider masses. The negotiation tactics of the Russians explained by Kallas spread especially well: they demand the maximum, present ultimatums and do not back down, because then they will finally get half of what they have never had.

Many old-school foreign policy gurus consider talking to the public to be somewhat unworthy and even dangerous, but our strategy no longer crosses the line. If you want to influence Western decision-makers, talk to those voters. In the last six years, the front cover related to Estonia has been in three major German dailies three times, says one Estonian diplomat. Three years ago, a picture of Muhu's skirts was printed in connection with the song festival, in the spring Kallas with three more heads of state - and a few weeks ago, Kaja Kallas was already on the front cover of Tagesspiegel. He had the text "The dictator only understands power."

The messages were made clearer and more specific. There was no more talk of nice keywords in general, but the most important ones in short sentences. NATO is not prescribing things. Estonia is Europe. Russia is uncontrollable and no agreements can be reached with them because they will never abide by them.

However, sharing the values of the Allies does not mean accepting everything. Listening to the speeches and questions of Europeans in Strasbourg, I am amazed at their ability to find the good in everything. Twenty seconds of each minute are pinched as compliments, the previous speaker is praised, opinions are joined and important issues are found to have been discussed. The maximum emotional outburst expresses one's concern or - because there is still war - even a particularly deep concern, but sharp criticism is rarely heard. It also scares Estonians.

We watch the war on social media, we get our daily dose of fear and anger, but gradually everything begins to subside. The German writer Winfried Georg Sebald has described people who drank coffee in the midst of the smoky ruins of Dresden in World War II - because continuing everyday rituals in the midst of major disasters helps to preserve a little bit of humanity. This is a human and understandable desire, but at the political level, numbness, reconciliation and the desire to move forward with life may mean the arrival of a new catastrophe, and this time for Estonia.

"It is crucial that Europe does not get used to the war," my acquaintances from Kiev write passionately, wearing bulletproof vests. "We are getting used to it all," Kallas warns several times in his speeches, describing to a small group of decision-makers gathered for lunch how quickly Europe calmed down after the capture of Crimea. "I was in this house when it happened," says Kallas.

EUROPEAN

"He doesn't need to be tried much," says one of the prime minister's advisers. Kallas works fast and can acquire materials in minutes. War and even international security have not been Kaja Kallas' favorite topics. He considers himself a pacifist, and the details of his anti-tank weapons used to leave him deeply cold. "I would rather deal with copyright reform with you," one of his former colleagues in the European Parliament tells Kallas, and Kallas smiles and nods. He would also rather be in business, IT or energy. But in the new situation, Kallas has learned quickly. He has the ability to focus his attention for a long time. I hang on to his tail, but only a few times during the day he picks up the phone from his bag and grabs it for a few tens of seconds, and I'm not sure he's wasting those moments.

KALLAS CONSISTENTLY BRINGS OUT NOT THE OPINIONS OF WESTERN ANALYSTS, BUT THE SPEECHES OF RUSSIAN POLITICIANS, TURNING THEM AGAINST THE JUBILEES THEMSELVES.

Kallas communicates in French and Finnish and is very fluent in English, using unprepared complicated expressions such as "sanctions are tailored" or "we must not fall into the trap set by the Russians". Numerous language skills are extremely important at this level - it is good to listen to, it gives an idea of the speaker's wide horizons and gives the impression that the speaker is fluent in the topic not only in official conversations, but much more broadly. Jüri Ratas was also very hard-working and thoroughly prepared, but due to his limited language skills and possibly also his lack of other skills, he often got stuck at the talking points.

Kallas' manner of speech is calm and rational, but passionate. This contributes to the principle formulated by Klen Jäärats , Director of European Affairs at the State Chancellery , that Estonia does not have to pay equal attention to all topics at summits, but selects some of the most important ones and reaches the necessary decision on one topic. This requires focus, argument and will. "Today, it is certainly known that Estonia is ready to finish with any proposals," says Jäärats.

 

Kaja Kallas' braids not only start but also end, and according to the best lessons of rhetoric, she constantly moves between the individual and the general, skillfully sewing a whole cloak of conclusions onto a small button of fact. In his speeches, he often uses a personal dimension, talking about the deportation of his grandparents or correcting the historical facts of the French ambassador. He consistently highlights not the opinions of Western analysts, but the speeches of Russian politicians, turning them against the people of Tolboy themselves - Dmitry Medvedev 's arrogant phrase "they will come back to us" is repeatedly quoted by Kallas in Europe.

However, Kaja Kallas' main trump card in Europe is that she is European. He reads books (there is only time before falling asleep in the evening) and is able to quote them at the right time and without preparation. His speeches reflect an understanding of the importance of referring to history, because the horrors of the 20th century still define the idea of Europe. Annual figures such as 1939 or 1945 or 1991 can often be heard in Strasbourg (the year 1999, when NATO intervened in the Yugoslav wars, is not conspicuously mentioned, but there were no fears of retaliation at the time).

Kallas is most often accused of not knowing the world of ordinary people's thoughts. He is alienated and does not smell the soil and blood that, as we are told, make up the everyday life of the average person. But what makes Kallas foreign in Estonia makes him unique in Europe. He is educated, specific, rational and fast. "He is European," says Mäesalu. "It sounds elitist, but behind the table are European leaders."

This does not mean cramping. The shore is rather characterized by familiarity and simplicity. Amazingly often, male politicians want to surf with Kaja Kallas, even though no one in Europe complains that she happens to be a woman and where does the canary yellow costume she wears in a euro mine lined with gray suits. A very strict hierarchy and pretended poses make Kallas joke, and he shakes his hand when he is told that a man in a black tailcoat with a copper chain on his stomach and an important penny on his chain must be invited to visit the toilet in the European Parliament and accompanied.

"It hasn't fundamentally changed in a year," says Gerrit Mäesalu, "it may only have become more specific." read and draw conclusions. Advisers have repeatedly tried to push the holidays into the daily schedule, but Kallas orders to fill them up. I know it 's awkward, but in Strasbourg I'm going to read the mouthpiece of the Prime Minister of the Republic, and he only eats it once and for all during the day - because he uses his mouth for something else.

RELATIONSHIPS

Kaja Kallas's rise to the top among European leaders (one very high-ranking European official who has seen him up close among the three leading heads of state) began on January last year. Another meeting of heads of state took place. Just a few days earlier, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron had come up with the idea to meet Vladimir Putin. According to sources - and Kaja Kallas confirms this - she was the only one who initially opposed it.

He had made his arguments clear and was arguing against the leading European countries with his rationality and cold nerves. If Russia has not met any of the conditions required for such a summit, why invite it to the table? Once upon a time in the better world, Kallas worked as a lawyer, and his ability to argue is as strong within him as he is with velvet. "I was in a very awkward position," admits Kallas. "Because I was completely alone."

Everything changes behind closed doors. Often, those who give the impression of a strong lion in public are behind the square round table. People are becoming emotional here, the label is not being adhered to, and there are a number of heads of state who, during their calls, go to the toilet or the next room to pick up the phone. However, in the end, because decisions and compromises have to be made, statements, facts, persuasiveness and the ability to speak much more broadly and in detail than just your points of conversation matter most to the Council. "The only thing that really counts in the Council lately is how well the head of state can argue," says Jonatan Vseviov. "And how well the country's diplomats have prepared in the past."

Kallas did not convince Merkel and Macron at that time, but she did not talk enough about other countries, so the meeting did not take place and the biggest beast of our time stayed in Moscow with her Kremlin bells. For Kallas, this was the first such confrontation with the leaders of the great powers, and he feared that he had broken allied relations, but the opposite happened. "If you stand up for what you believe in," says Kallas, "you deserve respect."

Kallas is not afraid to be different. At the gala lunch, he is the only one to send back coffee and ask for tea (which he can't drink). His style of communication with world leaders is described as straightforward and open. "Your prime minister is very forthright," said Charles Michel , the chairman of the council , after Kallas had told world leaders that their speeches to Putin would only make Putin himself happy.

Kallas often pushes the label aside and drives over corners of excessive courtesy without becoming overwhelmed. When a European leader called Callin again, he asked a very high-ranking European official to speak with the Baltic leaders for himself - but Kallas disagreed, telling the official "let him call me himself". And the call took place.

At the same time, Kaja Kallas is sufficiently familiar with the etiquette of European police communication, according to which disagreements are resolved behind closed doors and no one is taught in public. When a major Western European publication mistakenly claimed in its headline that Kallas was demanding arms gifts from Germany to Ukraine, the prime minister's advisers called the newspaper and ordered the headline to be corrected. Estonia does not want to teach friends in front of the public, but rather to explain its views to their public and their decision-makers.

This is easier to do because Kallas has a warm personal relationship with so many leaders. He communicates with many through messages, exchanges quick information or thoughts. Most European decision-makers are peers from Kaja Kallas. The old ones have retreated and the young ones have not yet arrived, which means that Kallas and his friends have lived in a more or less similar world all their lives, read the same books, lived through the same events, and their children are more or less the same age. When they meet, they laugh and sum up in a few short expressions a common history or too long a gap between the two meetings, 'oh sorry'. Eleven are called by their first name, and instead of a formal handshake, I see more hugs in Strasbourg than in the Annel sauna on Saturday night.

The European Parliament, sometimes called a pointless mocha, has today given birth to leaders in many European countries, and the networks woven there extend far and deep to former Ambassador Kaja Kallas. When the Prime Minister of Denmark fell ill and could not attend the Council, for the first time in his history he did not ask for a Nordic leader to represent him, but called Kallas and asked the Prime Minister of Estonia to represent the views of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Prime Minister of Belgium, the President of the European Commission, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the President of the European Council, the President of France and the Vice-President of the United States, the friends of Latvia and Lithuania are, if not Kallas, friends at least. "The Prime Minister has his feet very hard," Kusti Salm tells me as we walk down the wide stairs of the Ministry of Defense.

COUNSELORS

The circle of Kallas' advisers is scarce, it can fit behind a smaller kind of restaurant table, and if there were no security guards, we could all ride in one minibus. The right hand of the Prime Minister Gerrit Mäesalu comes from Võru, where he once went to the culture house Kannel with twenty other people to watch Lars von Trier's grim film "Dogville". The film is about the evil that unfolds in a person and how easy it is to start. At the end of the session, Mäesalu sat alone in the hall. It is possible that this film is one of the reasons why Mäesalu does not make any illusions about the current war.

Mäesalu started watching the Russian wars already in high school. He watched the destruction of Grozny. Then came the war between Georgia and Ukraine. This was followed by the Syrian war. He sat up and watched posts from Aleppo doctors on Twitter about people dying in a chemical attack. He knows that human lives do not matter to Putin, and he thinks that Estonia's role is to constantly remind the West of this. To say that the confrontation will be long. We must not allow Putin to build a new war machine, and to that end his economic capacity must be taken away. "It will not be fully understood," says Mäesalu, "but the West must not forget the dead in Ukraine. We must not fall into the trap of being grateful to Putin for ending the war he has begun. "

Already at the end of the summer, when the crisis in Belarus broke out, Mäesalu believed that war would somehow come. But he also believes that the Ukrainians will not give up. In a cozy restaurant in Strasbourg that is about a million years old and serves fat pork cakes and amazingly sweet wine, he tells me that after the war he wants to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine. He believes that Estonians could play a big role in this. "I want to feel the consequences of my actions," he says. Endless talking is necessary, but it is not certain that it will always change anything.

The Foreign Adviser to the Prime Minister is Liis Lipre-Järma, who previously worked as a diplomat. He goes, speaks and thinks quickly, and describes himself as a person who loves order and systemic thinking, but admits that the Prime Minister is ahead of him. Lipre-Järma is one of those foreign policy fanatics who says not Afghanistan but Afga and dreams of Emmanuel Macron's ratings. The complexity of combinations, the richness of connections, the excitement of historical patterns - foreign policy embraces many.

At the onset of each crisis, Lipre-Järma systematizes the accounts she follows on Twitter, but although two weeks have passed since the start of the war, she has not been able to do so. Working days are now long and extremely busy, and typically in Estonia, all advisers have to deal not only with thinking, but also with organizing, organizing and communicating.

Lipre-Järma is in a light sleep and the message on the night of February 24 was enough when she woke up. He had already written the first version of the Prime Minister's statement at Christmas, but now he took up the statement again. "It didn't have a heart in it," he says. The flare of the missiles had changed everything.

Then Lipre-Järma started working with a newscast. All the most important people involved in foreign relations were moved out of the e-mail exchange and a separate information exchange environment was created for them, which they are not asked to name. Labeling and storytelling began, and it was not the easiest, because Lipre-Järma was diagnosed with a corona that morning. He did not hear the hypersensitive intelligence directly and had to half-guess it himself when talking to the participants in the meetings. And then there were repeated reports that an extraordinary meeting of NATO leaders would take place the next day, NATO Secretary General would arrive in Estonia in five days, and Boris Johnson had the same wish, not to mention that US Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to speak to Kaja Kallas on the same day.. This meant not only the preparation of messages very quickly - help Ukraine militarily and isolate Russia from everywhere - but also crazy choreography.

When we walk along a foreign river in Europe after another debate in the twilight, Lipre-Järma says that there can be no winners in the war, because everyone loses someone or something in the war. He is aware of all the news, but has begun to avoid photos and reports of the war because he will no longer be able to fall asleep. I remember Kallas's words, who think that the pictures of Ukraine are "heartbreaking" and often keep him up at night. Celia King-Pack sends me a message a few hours after the meeting. "And you know what," he writes, "I cry every day. If I look at these women and children and think about what they left behind.

EUROPE

When I smuggle in to a lunch where journalists are not allowed and Kaja Kallas is grilled - figuratively - by the leaders of all the political groups in the European Parliament and the Speaker of Parliament, the key decision-makers in today's Europe, Kallas puts a pastel-covered notebook and writes down especially under the thick line. He uses extremely thin-tipped pens for this purpose, which his advisers try hard to stock up on, but which disappear like socks into the washing machine. He then answers everything in detail, while the grilled Norwegian skrei sauvage disappears from the plates of others and evaporates cold on his plate. This is not a normal practice. Mario Draghiis one of the few who, like Kallas, notes all the questions and really answers them. In most cases, politicians waver and talk in general, not in detail and specifically.

But Europeans are in a hurry. Seconds flash repeatedly during sessions: people are given one minute to speak, and you are allowed to interrupt for a maximum of 18 seconds, then you are interrupted and, if this does not stop you, the microphone is switched off. You need to be fast, accurate and talk about it. To the point , it is said repeatedly when describing Kallas' speech.

Nevertheless, there are many who can only flutter like a fish seeing Christmas lights in a minute. Europe is indeed a continent of speaking: people like to introduce themselves to it, to quote by heart or on paper, to enjoy the good structure and rhetorical nuances of speech, and to speak almost endlessly. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why many admitted their naivety after the war broke out. Kaja Kallas himself skillfully reminds everyone of this, when during his speech in the European Parliament he reminds that Estonia has long been able to read Russia. However, he does not want to be rude. "My grandmother always said it would be ugly to say to another, 'I told you,'" he says. And yet this sentence remains above the giant amphitheater and is repeated many times later. "Yes, you told us."

Estonian stocks have risen in recent weeks. "The European Union is really working the way it is supposed to work," says Jonatan Vseviov. "In many cases, the final decision has been different from what the big countries have decided among themselves." If one of the reasons for the failure of the Russians in Ukraine is that Russian officials and even spies did not bother to learn Ukrainian and thought they already knew the country, I am not sure how many of the thousands of people with rational haircuts who are currently in Strasbourg or Brussels corridors have visited Russia or Ukraine at all. And if so, have they ever seen this dark throbbing heart of Russia, this unknown binder,

"If you want to know Russia," said Alexander Toots , a security police legend who has captured several Russian spies, "don't go to Moscow or St. Petersburg, but go to the streets instead of the dirt." , I am not sure that they have ever had an understanding of what fear and confusion, suffering and greatness mean.

The European Parliament has more than 750 members and fewer Russians than a sawmill. True, even among German Greens, there were people born in Russia. However, Yana Toom is one of the few. When Kaja Kallas and Urmas PaetComparing various opinion polls, where one showed an increase in Russian support for the war and the other a decrease, Toom shakes his head and asks what opinion polls you are talking about if an ordinary Russian does not even dare to talk on the phone. Or if Europe thinks that depriving the Russians of the prosperity of a prosperous society, they will break. "The pain threshold of Russians is much higher than that of Europeans," Toom says in a radio program. "Only power matters to the Russians," a large company that has been negotiating hundreds of difficult negotiations in Russia since the 1970s tells me. Europe may even know all this - but they do not perceive, feel or fully understand it.

However, it is especially difficult to understand chaos in this large part of the world because they like order. In the amphitheater of the European Parliament, someone like me, a chamberlain of Parliament, comes to me and asks me to move the badges about four millimeters. Over the last centuries, Europe has wanted to be the edge of the mind. Rational arguments, logical inferences. After the Second World War, there was a desire to agree on eternal peace, because it is just sensible. Europe has gone so far with its wisdom that it has become unbearably boring at times: everything is predictable and controlled, even the trees in the park have been pruned on just the right date, and when I enter another hotel I know that a room that meets all standards is suffocatingly expressionless. Europe can no longer see, understand or deal with the brutal chaos of order.

"For Putin, stability is only a sham," writes Bruno Maçães , one of Estonia's foreign policy authorities . "The Kremlin knows that Europeans have a deep aversion to instability and conflict."

"We need to protect our citizens," someone is saying at this important lunch, and we are currently being served with steaming tender meat in plates with European stars. "We suffer and we have to be honest," someone wants, raising a glass to good appetite. "We have to say straightforwardly that it all comes at a price," says the third, and we are presented with frozen raspberries. The moment I raise my trophy to intoxicate the 2015 Belguardo Vermentino, the other end of the table is talking about attacking Kiev, and mixing a cup of coffee with a spoon, I hear a deeply European question: 'I support Ukraine, but how much can I do to fight should I come to my country? ”

HALF A YEAR INTO THE FUTURE

According to Kusti Salm, the next six months will be decisive for taking decades of war from Estonia. "We need to make the most of that time, and if we can't convince NATO, it could be fatal," he said. What we achieve in six months will determine our future for a very long time. How good are our ambassadors. How skilled are our Chancellors and Undersecretaries. How convincing are the Prime Minister, the President and their advisers.

ACCORDING TO KUSTI SALM, THE NEXT SIX MONTHS WILL BE DECISIVE FOR TAKING DECADES OF WAR FROM ESTONIA. "WE NEED TO MAKE THE MOST OF THAT TIME, AND IF WE CAN'T CONVINCE NATO, IT COULD BE FATAL."

The NATO summit will take place in June. Without holding weekends, Estonian soldiers and officials prepare their wishes. How many troops. How many and what weapons. Kusti Salm says that he is optimistic - the consensus has only grown three weeks after the war and he does not believe that the battles will end before May and everything will fall apart in peace.

At the last meeting of European leaders, the blood had returned to the people. There were clear points on how to squeeze Russia and make itself independent of Russia. It is mutually agreed that the sanctions will be valid for at least the next six months. Half a year - and then the future begins.

During this time, Estonian foreign representatives must provide heating. In the coming months, a slight Nordic accent in English will probably be repeated hundreds of times in European corridors, just as dangerous Russia is. "The truth must be painful for all of us to see," says Gerrit Mäesalu. "This pain must be brought together." Estonia begins to remind again and again that Russia will not abide by any agreement. The cut-off from international life must continue and economic pressure must remain the same. "We have to keep the momentum ," says Lipre-Järma. This war will not end when the weapons are silent. "Only when Russia as a whole changes completely can we agree with her," says Celia Kuningas-Saagpakk.

In fact, Estonia is preparing for a confrontation that will last for years. Hot tensions have lowered the new iron curtain - just this time we are on the right side. But this is not a matter of course. The most important task in Estonia's foreign relations is still to convince the European public that Estonia is Europe, many tell me. And there is still a lot of work to be done.

When I sit at the opening banquet of the Estonian art exhibition in Copenhagen two days after the solidarity outbursts in Strasbourg, there are many educated, wealthy and influential Danes around the table. One of them, someone from the fund owner, worships his Estonian neighbor and asks curiously: "Do you have your own language in Estonia?"

THE FUTURE

 

If possible, Jonatan Vseviov will listen to his father's radio lectures from Russia. They have influenced him a lot over the years, and right now he has reached Stalinto the end of time. "It's important today," he says barely. When he goes to work in the morning, he tries to concentrate on things other than Ukraine and Russia. Vseviov knows that Estonia is fast, terribly fast, because we must already actively participate in shaping the world order that will come when the cannons are silent. "We need to be the ones to think more and more than the big countries can afford," he says. "And we have to constantly communicate our thoughts, not buzz with them behind a whiskey glass in front of the fireplace." Among other things, old-fashioned diplomacy is finally over. However, every morning Vseviov watches the news from the front and feels resentment and anger while walking to work. "Killing children in the middle of Europe in the 21st century," he says, "how is that possible?"

Alar Karis is in Romania during our conversation, and the day before he was in Moldova, expressing his understanding and support. In the morning, he no longer wants to watch the news of the war, it causes him a lot of fear, anxiety and hope. He can't imagine Macron feeling (supposedly at Zelensky's request) hours of talking to Putin looking at the person killing the children on the big screen - and yet Macron has to keep the peace.

 

NO ONE WORKS IN THE ESTONIAN FOREIGN SERVICE ANYMORE. AT A RECENT FOREIGN MINISTRY MEETING, JONATAN VSEVIOV SAID THAT "ACCORDING TO THE LATEST DATA, IT SHOULD BE WEDNESDAY TODAY".

However, Karis forces himself to watch the news of the war because he knows that the most dangerous thing is to start a war. "We are no longer used to being in a situation where living conditions have deteriorated for a long time," he says. We get used to it. We want a quick end and we will accept what cannot be accepted. However, the secret information, which also reaches Karisen, gives her hope and she tries to find it elsewhere. The Finnish president had told him that at the end of his last speech, Putin had said, "Let's keep in touch," and that may be a good sign, because previous calls ended like a broken movie almost half a sentence long. According to Karis, several other heads of state feel powerless. "I want to do something," he says, "but we must act within the laws and regulations."

No one works in the Estonian Foreign Service anymore. At a recent Foreign Ministry meeting, Jonatan Vseviov said that "according to the latest data, it should be Wednesday today". Liis Lipre-Järma tries to show her a vaccine passport in a café and only then hears that she doesn't have to do it for several days. Only the first meters of the long marathon have been run, but tens of thousands of refugees have to cope and society must be kept from breaking down, not to mention the economy.

Kaja Kallas has been sleeping for only a few hours in recent weeks. The days are filled with meetings, speeches, presentations and often six or seven interviews. "The brain doesn't turn itself off," he says. That's how the Prime Minister sits in the dark at night, eyes open and thinking about what to do next. Under the leadership of Jonatan Vseviov, several scenarios for the future have been developed, and each scenario requires different steps. Certainly, Estonia must keep Europeans in mind of what Russia really is and that it cannot be treated as a European. Should Ukraine conclude a peace treaty in the near future, it is Estonia that must say that this treaty has been made, a weapon in its infancy. "If we look back two years from now, we know what the right decision was," says Kallas. "It simply came to our notice then. "Would the no-fly zone be right? Or will it attack us? But if the attack still comes, despite the no-fly zone, could the deaths of Ukrainians prove unnecessary? This war is not just a matter of considering foreign policy and security choices. Above all, it is a place where the morals and conscience of Europeans are decided. And every decision can be right - or wrong.

The predictions made at the end of last year have been quite accurate, but the speed of refugees, for example, has been unprecedented. According to Taimar Peterkop, the war in Ukraine and its consequences are the biggest challenge for Estonia in the last 30 years. When I leave his office with a view of beauty, I notice a grenade launcher on the bookshelf. Peterkop says that it could shoot military trains arriving at the Baltic station if it so wishes. The grenade launcher does not work - but the Estonian Secretary of State does not rule it out.

On the bookshelf, however, there is a caudal tail and almost a meter of beautiful diifene. He now lives with his son in a two-room apartment in Õismäe. The son probably won't go to school anymore, in the fall he hopes to get into vocational school here and learn some specialties. They are doing well, says Valja repeatedly. They don't need anything. In the evenings, she sits on the balcony watching the setting sun on the red bricks and transporting the cooperative's diligent chair to the rubbish bins. It's not just a garden with 40 young trees, a man and a son right here, the open sky of the homeland is open and inviting - but Valja won't give up. I don't think Valja will ever give up.

Some of you who are not involved with it daily via #serious-chat need to know that, you might not like to see all the death and destruction but you have to - we all have to because it will undermine how the world will be in the fufure - how we make it a complete loss for Russia. 

 

[Pietru 1,231]

Can I get a quick tl;dr on that article?

 

Also I think it will just diminish within a few months anyways, doubt Putin's getting too far (I hope he invades Malta and sinks our island)

Edited March 23, 2022 by Pietru

[Kai 292]

Slava Ukraini!

Edited March 23, 2022 by Kai

[inf' 138]

I hope Russia win. It's unfair what NATO is doing to them.

[Vanzant 1,380]

I'll be honest. I haven't paid a whole lot of attention  but like everything else this situation has been mismanaged. 

 

You're either in or out when it comes to war and if you're going to sanction Russia up the ass you may as well be all in. Instead of what they're currently doing.

 

Best case scenario is to hope Russia and China dont become joined at the hip due to all these sanctions but that's probably where it's going to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[£NewAccount 241]

End sent us here.
@VanzantMost likely Russia and China gonna join up worst case scenario, it's all going to go south from there.

[Joe 254]

all very good points

 

thank you jyri 

[≈david 805]

Lets go jyrI!

[Harmr 100]

Slava ukraini

[Sus 136]

Don't care about the war 

[Dickus 779]

hope Azov Battalion and Kadyrov's goobers kill each other to the last

[Sutty 16]

Another tree is going to take your fucking cottage out before the Russians do

[Macleran 38]

wish a nigga would