‘I’m not counting on the US’ — In Estonia, faith in Trump’s defense of Baltics fades

(Martin Fornusek – The Kyiv Independent) Among Estonians, there is little confidence that U.S. President Donald Trump would rush to defend their country in the event of a Russian invasion. As a 1.3-million-strong NATO member sharing a border with Russia, Estonia would likely be at the forefront of a potential conflict between the alliance and Moscow — a prospect seen as increasingly realistic since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Publicly, Estonian officials have cast a confident note. While Russia remains a long-term threat, the Baltic country remains shielded by NATO’s Article 5 — and therefore by the U.S. military might — while Moscow’s forces are preoccupied in Ukraine, they say. But on the streets of Tallinn, the tension is palpable. – ‘I’m not counting on the US’ — In Estonia, faith in Trump’s defense of Baltics fades