Estonia and Finland are developing a plan to protect the Gulf of Finland from the Russian Federation

In the event of a prolonged crisis, freight traffic could be diverted to the North Sea, which would require large-scale infrastructural changes.

Estonia and Finland plan to strengthen cooperation in the field of maritime defense, in particular to develop a plan to protect the Gulf of Finland from Russian ships in the event of a threat. This was reported by the commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Andrus Merilo for Helsingin Sanomat,  ERR writes.

Merilo emphasized that maritime defense is becoming a priority area of ​​military cooperation between the countries, and noted that the creation of plans to close the Gulf of Finland to the enemy is quite real.

The closure of the Gulf of Finland will depend on the security situation. If necessary, countries are ready to take the necessary measures to protect their interests.

Finnish military expert Jaakko Puuper also confirmed that the technical possibilities to close the gulf exist, in particular through the use of mines and missile patrols. However, he noted that such actions can have a significant impact on the economy of Finland, because important ports – Helsinki and Hamina-Kotka – are located near the bay.

According to him, in the event of a prolonged crisis, cargo transportation would have to be redirected to the North Sea, which would require large-scale infrastructural changes.

Puuper also drew attention to the fact that both modern and traditional defense methods, including coastal artillery, can be used to protect the Gulf of Finland. However, with the change in the methods of warfare after World War II, many weapons systems can be deployed at a distance, without being permanently located in the conflict zone.

At the same time, the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO also changes the strategic picture, and in the event of aggravation of the situation, it is possible to participate in joint exercises with the involvement of allies such as the United States, Great Britain and Sweden.

As USM wrote, earlier Estonian intelligence reported that the Kremlin was preparing for a confrontation with NATO countries in the Baltic Sea region.