U.S. to Send New Military Contingent to Estonia

The United States will soon send a new contingent of troops to Estonia.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced it, according to ERR.

“The United States has informed us that, following a review of its troop rotation plans, American troops will remain in Estonia. This means that a new group of U.S. troops will arrive in the near future. This is very positive news,” Tsahkna said.

The minister noted that Estonia had previously made the case to Washington for keeping U.S. troops stationed in the Baltic states and Poland.

“We presented several arguments explaining why, after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Baltic states and Poland, maintaining a U.S. military presence there is essential for preserving stability and peace, as well as for strengthening deterrence,” Tsahkna said.

According to him, Estonia has pledged to cover the costs of maintaining allied troops on its territory if necessary.

“Moreover, we are a country that allocates 5.4% of its GDP to defense. So our relationship with the United States has always been strong and reliable,” Tsahkna said.

In early July, most of the U.S. military unit stationed in Estonia on a rotational basis left the country. At the time, the size of the next rotation and the U.S. long-term plans for maintaining a military presence in Estonia in the coming years remained unclear.

Previous U.S. units deployed to Estonia came from American brigades stationed in Poland or Romania. They typically consisted of 500 to 700 troops, based in Tapa, southern Estonia, and other areas.

The rotational deployment of U.S. military units in Estonia began in 2014. The decision came after Russia’s occupation of Crimea and the outbreak of fighting in eastern Ukraine, prompting NATO to reassess its approach to the security of the Baltic region.

The deployment of U.S. forces in Estonia is carried out under a bilateral agreement between the two countries.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda also recently announced a new rotation of U.S. troops.