Estonia, which is a member of NATO, is considering the possibility of blocking the passage of russian vessels and ships through the Baltic Sea.
Estonia's introduction of a contiguous zone, which can be up to 12 nautical miles wide from the 12-mile territorial sea, allows the country to conduct searches in the Gulf of Finland on military ships and civilian vessels to monitor compliance with Estonian law. This proposal is already being processed by the country's government, ERR reports.
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Currently, the Gulf of Finland within this zone is formed in such a way as to leave a three-mile wide corridor. Formally, Estonia might simply close this corridor by declaring it an adjacent zone. In fact, this simply means a naval blockade of one of the most powerful russia’s ports in St. Petersburg and all others in Leningrad oblast, as well as a blockade of the Baltic Fleet of the russian federation.
At the same time, the main thing here is not the announcement itself, but the possibility of Estonian control of the region. Defense Express notes that the entire fleet of Estonia consists of four ships: the Lindormen-class minelayer EML Wambola (A433) and three Sandown-class minehunters. The Border Service also has the Kindral Kurvits multi-purpose rescue ship and cutters.
Defense Express reminds that in 2021, Estonia purchased Blue Spear anti-ship missiles (5G SSM) from Israel, which are to be included in the coastal defense complex. Although the term of the contract is set at the level of 2026.
That is, from the point of view of naval capabilities, the country is unlikely to be able to oppose the Baltic Fleet of the russian federation. But this is not so important when it comes to the fact that the country is a member of NATO and any aggression even against a cutter will be an attack on a member of the Alliance. But this is already an extremely interesting precedent for rusia itself, because the Kremlin has repeatedly "ignored" what was believed to lead to escalation.
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