Danger in the Baltics: The Threat from Russia | DW Reporter

Nov 30, 2025 | In Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, Russia's proximity shapes everyday life. While NATO is increasing its troop numbers, people are trying to maintain normality — with family celebrations, running businesses, and a belief in peace. Farmers like Andzejs Petkevics are harvesting their last potatoes under the shadow of increased border controls and military presence. In Lithuania, Birute Krakasuskiene runs a kebab shop, where her regular customers are soldiers from the country's largest NATO base. And on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa, Ave Ungro is involved in the women's civil defense force to be prepared for an emergency. But the question remains: How do you live in the crosshairs? A film about fear, hope, and everyday life on Europe's most sensitive border.

Ukraine's UN Ambassador on Whether Trump Is Really the Person to Broker Peace | DW News

Sep 20, 2025 | Andrii Melnyk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, outlines Ukraine’s objectives for the upcoming UNGA, weighs in on whether Donald Trump could broker peace in Ukraine, and explains why he believes Europe cannot return to “business as usual” with Russia once the war is over, and why buying energy from Russia is hypocritical.

Russian Fighter Jets Violating Estonian Airspace Intercepted by NATO | BBC News

Sep 19, 2025 | Three Russian warplanes that violated Estonian airspace have been intercepted by NATO, the military alliance has said.

Estonia's foreign ministry condemned the incursion as "brazen". It said three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered the airspace of a NATO member "without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes" on Friday over the Gulf of Finland.

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the military alliance "responded immediately and intercepted the Russian aircraft” and called it "yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and NATO's ability to respond.”

The Russian military has not publicly commented on the issue.

Russian Jets Violate NATO Airspace - as Trump’s Fails to Stop Putin - Making the World Less Safe

Sep 19, 2025 | Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace in a dangerous 12-minute incursion, intercepted by NATO forces. European leaders call it a reckless provocation, the latest sign of Putin testing the West’s defenses.

This escalation didn’t happen in a vacuum. Years of Donald Trump’s appeasement of Putin, undermining NATO, dismissing Russian aggression, and weakening U.S. credibility, have emboldened Moscow. Now, the world is paying the price for Trump’s failure to confront authoritarian power.


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Why the Baltics Are Preparing for Putin | The Story

Estonia, one of the Baltic states, sits on Europe's front line with Russia. The country that was, like Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union is increasingly worried about the threat Putin poses, and has plans in place if there is an invasion. But, if western Europe can no longer rely on the transatlantic alliance, will it work? And what could Britain learn from it?

Guest: Oliver Moody, Berlin Correspondent, The Times and The Sunday Times.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producer: Olivia Case.

A Baltic Warning: What Ukraine War Means for Europe—and the Russian Perspective

Mar 1, 2025 | On the GZERO World Podcast, we're bringing you two starkly different views on Ukraine's future and European security. First, Ian Bremmer speaks with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže about the growing security threats facing the Baltics—from cyberattacks and disinformation to undersea sabotage in the Baltic Sea. When an oil tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet recently severed a vital power cable between Estonia and Finland, it was a stark reminder of how hybrid warfare is playing out beyond the battlefield. Braže warns that Putin’s ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine, aiming to weaken US alliances and destabilize Europe. She also pushes back against claims that Ukraine's NATO ambitions provoked the war, calling them “complete nonsense,” and outlines why Latvia is boosting its defense spending to 5% of GDP.

The conversation then shifts to Moscow, where Bremmer speaks with former Russian colonel and ex-Carnegie Moscow Center director Dmitri Trenin. Once considered a pro-Western voice, Trenin’s views now align closely with the Kremlin. He argues that the fate of Ukraine should be decided primarily by Russia and the United States—not Ukraine or Europe.

Host: Ian Bremmer
Guest: Baiba Braže & Dmitri Trenin

The Baltic States in Putin's Shadow | DW Documentary

Aug 16, 2024 | The Baltic states regained independence more than 30 years ago. Now, Russia has them looking over their shoulder, again. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has left many people wondering whether Russia will set its power-hungry sights on the Baltic states, once more.

"There’s only one enemy and that’s Russia," says Estonian national Ain Tähiste, summing up his views on the issue in a sentence: "Latvia, Finland, Sweden - and on the Baltic Sea Poland, Germany, Denmark," he continues, "they’re all friends, but not the Russian neighbor.” "It’s naïve to think Russia’s far away," he adds.

Ain Tähiste guides the reporter team through the military museum on Hiiumaa. The Estonian island in the west of the country was off-limits to tourists during Soviet rule, because its location on the Baltic Sea made it strategically important to Moscow. Since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, Estonia has removed old Soviet monuments form public spaces and banished some of them to museums. "The Soviet Union occupied Estonia in 1940," Ain explains. "Are we still expected to pay our respects to the troops that occupied us? No, it was high time this happened!”

22-year-old Matthias Merelaine is from Tallinn and has no direct experience of the Soviet era. He’s nevertheless preoccupied by the question of whether Russia will try to return to the Baltics. "We’d be ready," he says, "to go to the front, weapon in hand, to fight the enemy and defend the homeland."

National guards are booming in Baltic nations - including Lithuania. Paulus Jurkus, son of a fisher from Kleipėda, says he wouldn’t run away, if attacked. The only port city in Lithuania, his home is not far from the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

This new aversion to Russians is also omnipresent in Latvia. Lauris Aleksevejs is a top chef in Latvia’s traditional seaside resort of Jurmala. The Russians used to be big spenders at Lauris’ restaurant. And since Latvia closed its borders to Russians, his income has nosedived. But he refuses to do business with the enemy.

Russia Declares Estonian PM Kaja Kallas a 'Wanted' Person | DW News

Feb 13, 2024 | The Kremlin says it placed her on the wanted list for taking hostile actions against Russia – and what it calls "the desecration of historical memory". Moscow has long criticized Estonia for removing Soviet-era monuments. Estonia's state secretary and Lithuania's culture minister are also on the list. Kallas has been a vocal support of Ukraine since Russia's invasion. For more, we talk to our Russia analyst Konstantin Eggert, who joins us from Vilnius.

En direct, guerre en Ukraine : poursuivie par Moscou, la première ministre estonienne dénonce la « tactique d’intimidation » russe : Moscou a lancé un avis de recherche contre Kaja Kallas, la première ministre d’Estonie, le secrétaire d’Etat estonien, Taimar Peterkop, et le ministre de la culture de Lituanie, Simonas Kairys, invoquant la vision opposée de l’histoire qu’ont la Russie et ces Etats. LIVE EN COURS »

Ukraine Has All Rights to Defend Itself, Also by Using Attacks on Russian Territory" | DW News

Aug 23, 2023 | In an interview with DW's chief political correspondent Nina Haase, Estonian Foreign Minister Tsahkna said he hoped that Ukrainians would be able to celebrate their Independence Day (August 24) in the streets "already next year". This year, because of martial law, there are no mass events in Ukraine. Tsakhna conceded that he didn't "believe in that really, I'm realistic", and added it was crucial to make the war come to an end in an "appropriate way", i.e. "Russia has pushed back to its territory, when the territorial integrity is re-established, when the international law has re-established in the meaning as well of all the crimes against humanity and war crimes, but also the crimes about leadership." Regarding Ukraine's methods of self-defense, Tsakhna reiterated that Ukraine had all rights to defend itself - "also by using attacks on Russian territory".

What Should Ukraine Expect from Its Allies? | DW Interview

In an interview with DW, the Estonian Foreign Minister, Urmas Reinsalu, said the Western community has not done enough yet to help Ukraine, adding that "the price is paid by the blood of Ukrainians."

Reinsalu also said that President Putin operates project "fear", targeting not only Ukraine but the Western capitals, saying that "Europeans should be worried about the security, environment and unpredictability of Putin."

War in Ukraine: '"We Must Think of the Unthinkable' - Says Former Estonian President

Jun 29, 2022 Former President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid says Russia is "totally unpredictable" and NATO has to adapt to always be "prepared".

Worlds Apart: Islamic Migrants Invading Europe as Part of a War against Christianity: Ex-Estonian Foreign Minister

The migration crisis in Europe has reinvigorated the integration debate, especially in predominantly mono-ethnic Christian societies. And though most recognize the need to take in refugees, many fear that they will stress the fabric of their societies and stretch their country's resources to breaking point. Can European countries find a balance between humanitarian needs and social pressures, and how much should the EU's role in creating those migration flows factor into its decision-making? Oksana is joined by Kristiina Ojuland, the former Foreign Minister of Estonia, to examine these issues.