A WAR 'AGAINST THE WESTERN WORLD'

Tensions simmer among neighboring NATO countries amid Russia's nearly 4-year-old conflict with Ukraine. Estonian President Alar Karis urges preparation for a 'different kind' of conflict

- BY PETER AITKEN

OBSERVATIONS Karis says he, Ukraine and "everybody wants peace" except Putin.

EUROPE MUST MEET THE CHALLENGES OF RUSSIAN AGGRESSion as a “different kind of war,” Estonian President Alar Karis said during an interview with Newsweek on October 24.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and going-on four-year-long war has neighboring countries concerned. Estonia borders Russia as part of the Baltic states, which also includes Latvia and Lithuania. The country is a little over 400 miles from Moscow and only around 97 miles from St. Petersburg. Over the past few months, Russia has allegedly harassed neighboring countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, most recently flying aircraft over Lithuania and Estonia's airspace in what has been labeled a blatant breach of sovereignty and international law.

But the lack of any direct military action against those nations has raised questions about Russian President Vladimir Putin's long-term goals and thinking, which Karis said is merely part of the unconventional way that Russia now wages war.

Throughout the conflict, Ukraine has relied heavily on NATO assistance, receiving weapons and training on weapons including F-16 fighter planes, while seeking an additional boost with U.S.-produced Tomahawk missiles that would allow it to strike deep into Russia, although the United States has so far resisted that step. President Donald Trump has actively pursued a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, reaching out to both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the weeks following his victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.