For Putin, 'US is the main enemy,' Estonian foreign minister says

Estonia's apical diplomat thinks Russia's warfare connected Ukraine goes good beyond the beforehand lines.

"This is not astir Europe. I deliberation that for Putin and for Russia, the U.S. is the main enemy, similar historically," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Fox News successful an exclusive interrogation successful Estonia's capital, Tallinn. 

"He has a program to reconstruct the Soviet empire, and this is precisely what he's doing. Ukraine is conscionable 1 example," helium added. 

Nine years ago, Tsahkna, past serving arsenic Estonia's defence minister, watched arsenic 120,000 Russian soldiers massed conscionable crossed the border, acceptable to invade his state successful conscionable 48 hours. 

WARNING TO TRUMP NUCLEAR NEGOTIATORS ABOUT DECEPTIVE IRAN VERSION OF ‘ART OF THE DEAL’

Russian soldiers thrust a motortruck during a rehearsal for the Victory Day subject parade successful St. Petersburg, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

"Now these troops are gone. They were sent to Ukraine, and they are virtually dead," Tsahkna spoke from the overseas ministry Wednesday, wherever helium present serves arsenic Estonia's apical diplomat. 

"At the moment, I don't expect immoderate benignant of the full-scale subject aggression against NATO due to the fact that Russia is moving retired of powerfulness successful Ukraine, to beryllium honest," Tsahkna added. "Economically, they're precise weak, but of course, we spot that Russia is preparing again." 

Estonia is not taking immoderate chances.

To ward disconnected immoderate imaginable penetration connected NATO’s eastbound flank, Estonia precocious announced it would walk implicit 5% of its GDP connected defence adjacent year, a extremity President Donald Trump has requested from each NATO countries. 

EUROPE STEPS UP TO FUND ITS OWN DEFENSE, PROVIDE SECURITY FOR UKRAINE AFTER TRUMP THREATS

On Wednesday, Estonia officially welcomed the accomplishment of six HIMARS satellite-guided rocket systems made successful the United States. It’s a limb that has been utilized successful Ukraine effectively, destroying targets up to 186 miles away. 

"We person created, arsenic Estonians, the regularisation that if the U.S. is investing $1, we are adding $10 connected apical of that. And each this going backmost to [sic] goes backmost to the U.S. economy, and we are getting the capabilities," Tsahkna said. 

In caller weeks, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland announced they would retreat from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the usage of anti-personnel onshore mines. Russia, which is not enactment to the treaty, has deployed mines successful the astir 20% of Ukraine it present occupies. 

Estonia is simply a tiny state of 1.3 cardinal radical located successful Eastern Europe, with an country astir doubly the size of New Jersey, It shares a 214-mile border with Russia.

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna attends a property league aft a gathering of ministers from the subordinate countries of the Nordic-Baltic Eight connected the land of Bornholm, Denmark, April 29, 2025. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix)

Since Russia launched its full-scale penetration of Ukraine much than 3 years ago, Estonia has chopped disconnected each vigor imports from Russia. Today, it receives 80% of its earthy state from the United States. 

Not each countries person been arsenic defiant. The 27-nation European Union, of which Estonia is simply a member, has lone chopped 60% of its vigor imports from Russia. Last year, the European Union spent much connected Russian lipid and state than assistance to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute. 

The Kremlin is besides waging warfare connected different beforehand arsenic well. "Russia is utilizing religion of the religion arsenic a instrumentality for their ain governmental goals," Tsahkna said. 

The overseas curate besides weighed successful connected Russia's projected three-day ceasefire surrounding its May 9 celebrations marking the extremity of World War II. "This is not that serious," Tsahkna replied.

RUSSIA DECLARES 3-DAY CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE FOR WWII VICTORY DAY

Since precocious 2023, astir a twelve undersea cables successful the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland person been cut. Russia is suspected but "it’s precise hard to accidental exactly," Tsahkna said. Over 14 radical from Russia’s alleged shadiness fleet person been arrested. China is suspected of carrying retired astatine slightest 1 enactment of sabotage arsenic well. 

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the archetypal clip since their Oval Office spat successful February. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)

NATO deployed warships disconnected the seashore of Estonia successful January, and since past nary cables person been cut, officers told Fox portion connected 2 ships successful the Gulf of Finland Tuesday. 

When asked astir the prospects of a ceasefire and eventual extremity of hostilities successful Ukraine, Tsahkna replied with a warning: 

"President Trump has said precise intelligibly that helium wants to person peace. The Ukraine [sic] radical privation to person a [sic] bid – and I deliberation that this is thing that Putin doesn't want."

Tsahkna does not judge Putin would ever usage nuclear weapons, calling specified a determination "political suicide." 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"He's conscionable brutal, but besides sometimes, from the Western portion of the world, we are excessively weak," Tsahkna added. "Putin is playing with our fears."