After Threat to Take St. Petersburg, Estonia Now Vows to Crush Russia in Tallinn

Speaking to Politico, Estonian Special Operations Force commander Col. Riho Uhtegi predicted that the Russian Army would die in the country's capital if they ever invaded. 

"They can get to Tallinn, and behind them, we will cut their communication lines and supplies lines and everything else. They can get to Tallinn in two days. But they will die in Tallinn. And they know this. … They will get fire from every corner, at every step," the officer stressed.

Uhtegi told the news outlet that "deterring Russia" is every Estonian's duty. "I don't know what it would be like if the Russians really start to fight. Just that every Estonian will fight," the officer stressed.

Uhtegi did not discuss the rationale behind Russia theoretically invading Estonia, a NATO member, and risking World War III in the process.

The officer's remarks follow comments made by Former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who said last month that if Russia attacked Estonia, "soon after that it may lose even Omsk and Tomsk, let alone St. Petersburg." 

NATO has beefed up its presence in Eastern Europe significantly following the 2014 Ukrainian crisis and Crimea's reunification with Russia, deploying rotating battalion battle groups in the Baltic states, dramatically increasing the scale and scope of its military exercises, and deploying a US missile defense shield in Poland and Romania. Moscow has responded to this perceived threat on its doorstep by improving its own military readiness.