The Daily Populous Monday February 16th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by pravda.com.ua and submitted by bloomsofbramble

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has dismissed claims that Estonia is among Europe's most vulnerable countries as "fake news" and said that if Russia invades and Estonia resists, the war would be taken onto Russian territory.

Source: Tsahkna in an interview with DW, as reported by European Pravda

Details: When asked about Estonia being seen as one of the first targets of a potential Russian invasion, Tsahkna said this is "very logical" if you look at the map.

Quote: "But in real life we are significantly strengthening our capabilities. I think NATO is stronger than ever. We already have new defence plans and this means we are not just waiting. If Russia invades our territory, then by starting to resist, we will take the war onto Russia's territory."

More details: Tsahkna said he is concerned about "political will".

Quote: "We are worried about Europe, whether Europe is ready to make decisions, to stand up, to become stronger."

More details: Tsahkna added it would be a mistake to hold talks with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin without any plan.

Quote: "We have pursued such a policy in Europe for several decades. And what is the result? The result is more wars and a more aggressive Russia. So it is absolutely wrong now to start looking for any special envoy of the European Union to send that envoy to the Kremlin because he will come back humiliated and weaker, and [this] will also weaken Ukraine's position."

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Estonian President Alar Karis have called for the appointment of a special EU envoy to hold talks with Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in December 2025 that Europe must find a way to engage directly with Russia's leader .

La Repubblica, an Italian media outlet, has reported that former Finnish president Sauli Niinistö is considered as a candidate for the role of European Union special envoy tasked with restoring a direct channel of communication with the Kremlin leader.

Xenon009 on February 16th, 2026 at 12:23 UTC »

I mean, people are talking tanks here, but estonia is NATO's cyberwarfare specialist.

Entirely shut down the russian grid for a few days, and you'll easily do a couple of months of fightings worth of damage, and thats ignoring the people who are going to be VERY cold and VERY angry about that fact.

And good luck pushing the front if your entire communication system is down, and all of a sudden you're reliant on motorbike messangers.

steve_ample on February 16th, 2026 at 11:29 UTC »

St. Petersburg is around 100 miles from their border, the most logical big target for Eesti. At least two major refineries around the city, too. Not saying a full boots on ground thing, but legit possible for shelling, missiles, and droning. St. Petersburg is 150 miles from the Finnish border too.

ltragach on February 16th, 2026 at 11:23 UTC »

Start the countdown till horseface cries a river because people hit back when faced with aggression.