Estonia and Finland to Develop Plan to Secure the Gulf of Finland and Block Russian Ships

The Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, Major General Andrus Merilo, has stressed the need to create plans that will allow the Gulf of Finland to be closed to Russian ships if necessary to ensure security.

This is reported by the Estonian broadcaster ERR with reference to Merilo's interview with the Finnish press.

‘Maritime defence is something in which Finland and Estonia will continue to increase their cooperation, and we may be able to develop more specific plans on how, if necessary, to completely ban enemy activities in the Baltic Sea. Militarily, it can be done, we are ready to do it, and we are moving in that direction,’ Merilo said.  

According to him, the closure of the Gulf of Finland depends on the security situation. ‘If there is a danger, and it is necessary, we are ready to do it to protect ourselves,’ he said.

Former editor-in-chief of the military magazine Suomen Sotilas Jaakko Puupera commented on the situation to the Finnish media. He noted that closing the Gulf of Finland is technically possible. The geography itself contributes to this, not to mention the impact of mines. Missiles would also make life difficult for enemy ships.

Finland's economic interests must also be taken into account: two of Finland's most important ports, Helsinki and KotkaHamina, are located on the Gulf coast. ‘If we were to find ourselves in a protracted crisis, when we had to close the Gulf of Finland, traffic would have to be shifted towards the North Sea. This would not happen overnight, it would be a large-scale infrastructure project,’ Puipera said.

According to him, more and more smart mines are being used today, but traditional mines can still be used effectively in naval warfare.

Puuperä also reminded that Finland and Sweden are now NATO members, and this changes the situation significantly.