On Hiiumaa - the second largest Estonian island in the Baltic Sea - a special holiday is held in the middle of summer: for three days, locals open their homes and offer their neighbors pastries, smoked fish and beer - all home-made.
44-year-old Ave Ungro, who came to the holiday with her six-year-old daughter, told DW: “This is very important for us, especially when there is a war raging nearby. It brings us together - we celebrate together, talk, think about the future”. The island holiday is just as important as the shooting training of the women's civil patrols, Ave believes.
She has been a member of this organization since the beginning of the war in Ukraine: “Probably like most Estonians, I was shocked on February 24, 2022. Mostly because I realized that our life could not continue the same way”.
However, Ave is determined to organize this new life herself - to prepare her family, the island, the country for a possible Russian attack. In short: to do something that would be beneficial for Estonia and for herself.
The training of the civil patrols
Since then, Ave, who is a speech therapist by profession, has spent 48 hours a year with the women's civil patrols. She has already successfully completed five different programs: security training, first aid, military training, field nutrition, and the history of the Estonian Civil Patrols. Ave hopes she will never have to use the skills she has acquired, and in the worst case scenario, she would prefer to focus on evacuations.
The Women's Civil Patrols organization was founded in 1927, was banned during the Soviet era, and was reestablished after the declaration of independence in 1991. It is part of a larger defense volunteer organization that consists of armed and well-trained civilians. In the event of war, this organization is supposed to provide support to regular military units. Both organizations are subordinate to the Estonian Ministry of Defense.
There is no atmosphere of fear
Therefore, Ave is not afraid of a possible Russian attack. She understands that the location of her Baltic island is of strategic importance: on the way from St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad, the Russians could take over Hiiumaa. But there is no atmosphere of fear.
Marek Kov of the International Center for Defense and Security also does not believe that Hiiumaa could suffer the fate of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia. He explains to DW that Estonia may be a small country, but it is important that “we invest a lot in security”. Currently, the Baltic country, a member of the EU, spends 3.4 percent of GDP on defense, and by 2029, spending is expected to reach a record 5.4 percent for a NATO country.
In addition, the culture of self-defense is deeply rooted in the Estonian nation. "And we have regional allies like Finland, the new NATO member, the other Baltic states, as well as Poland, the military superpower in Europe," Kov points out.
The expert emphasizes that Estonia's membership in NATO is crucial: according to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty and the principle of collective security, any attack on the country will mobilize the military units of the other members of the Alliance. Estonia also has Western military equipment, much better than Russian. And the threat that Russia could attack Estonia with nuclear weapons is nothing more than an empty threat, given the proximity to St. Petersburg.
Sabotage is a real problem
Much more significant than the theoretical Russian attack are the sabotages currently being carried out against the countries along the Baltic Sea coast: damage to underwater communication cables or interference with navigation signals, in which planes disappear from radar.
This is exactly what happened twice in April 2024 on flights from Finland to Estonia. Both planes had to return to Helsinki after failing to land in Tallinn. The GPS signal was apparently blocked by jamming transmitters. Ships in the Baltic Sea are also increasingly having such problems. Western intelligence agencies believe that these actions are being directed from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad - a "dagger against Europe"?
Russia has stored a large amount of military equipment there, including "Iskander" missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, political scientist Sergei Sukhankin told DW. He was born in Kaliningrad and calls his homeland a "dagger aimed at Europe."
Sukhankin warns that Kaliningrad is not only between EU members Lithuania and Poland: “It was a bastion of the Soviet military, one of the most militarized regions in the world. And today it is on the way to becoming the same again”.
Ave Ungro from Hiiumaa does not like this neighborhood, she naturally considers sabotage as something bad, but nevertheless she has no intention of leaving her “magic island”. “Here, look, a white-tailed eagle! There are so many birds here, it is so peaceful. The good thing about Hiiumaa is precisely this: that there are such places at all. It should stay that way!”
Author: Yuri Resheto