Royal correspondent
PA MediaIf royal visits are about sending a message, then the picture of the Prince of Wales in a tank near the Russian border must be one of the most direct.
Prince William has come to Estonia to support UK troops in what is now the British Army’s biggest operational deployment overseas, defending the Baltic state from the threat of Russia.
On Friday, in a freezing cold, mud-churned military training area, the prince saw the soldiers and the military equipment guarding Nato’s eastern flank.
The prince, in military uniform, peering from a Challenger 2 tank and then an armoured fighting vehicle, was sending a signal about the UK’s commitment to deter any aggression from Russia.
PA MediaDuring his two-day trip to Estonia, Prince William visited some of the 900 British troops in this multinational force, including soldiers of the Mercian regiment of which the prince is colonel-in-chief.
He saw forces at the military training grounds at Tapa Camp – part of Operation Cabrit in which a British Army Brigade is held at readiness to secure Nato’s “collective security and defence” in this vulnerable Baltic region.
This is what deterrence to Russia looks like on the ground – and the base shows how much the balance of power can shift.
Before Estonia regained its independence in 1991, this had been a base for Soviet air defences, with MIG fighter planes poised to take on the West.
Now the positions are reversed, with Estonian troops and their Nato allies training here to prevent a Russian incursion.
As well as riding in a Challenger 2 tank, the prince saw a Warrior armoured vehicle, a French Griffon fighting vehicle, a multiple launch rocket system, a Trojan vehicle for clearing obstacles and the prince drove an Archer mobile artillery system.
PA MediaThe war in Ukraine has shown how fast the technology of combat is changing and on Thursday the prince saw a hydrogen-powered drone, on a visit to designers in Estonia’s capital Tallinn.
Hundreds of local Estonians waited in the cold to meet the prince in Tallinn, lining the railings to shake his hand or to take a selfie. He was warmly welcomed to this small, tech-savvy country, which increasingly relies upon its allies.
Estonia has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, sharing a border with Russia and having been under Soviet rule in the past. All around the capital there are Ukrainian flags flying alongside the Estonian blue, black and white tricolour.
Many Ukrainian families have taken refuge in Estonia. During a visit to a school in Tallinn for Ukrainian child refugees, Prince William praised Ukraine’s strength.
“The Ukrainian resilience is everywhere,” Prince William told the students. “You have a very good spirit, very good souls, it’s very important.”
