Estonia’s Chief of the General Staff, Vahur Karus, has previously spoken about the possibility of launching preemptive missile strikes against Russian territory. Against this backdrop, the British newspaper Daily Express published a report on Estonia’s rapid expansion of its strike capabilities through the acquisition of U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems and ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers.

According to the publication, Tallinn has purchased six additional HIMARS launchers worth £3.4 billion, along with 182 ATACMS missiles. Earlier, the United States had already approved the delivery to Estonia of six HIMARS systems, the same 182 ATACMS missiles, and 856 GMLRS containers. In parallel, Latvia is acquiring six HIMARS units, Lithuania eight, while Estonia ultimately plans to field 12 HIMARS launchers and supplement them with South Korean K239 Chunmoo systems.

The Daily Express claims that if deployed in the Narva area, ATACMS missiles would be capable of striking targets in central Saint Petersburg, including Pulkovo Airport and the naval base in Kronstadt. From southeastern positions in Estonia, the report says, potential targets would include Pskov, Kingisepp, the military base in Luga, the M9 highway, and the Moscow-Riga railway line. The newspaper cites Estonian officers who argue that the new HIMARS and ATACMS systems would allow strikes deep inside Russia within the first hours of a potential conflict.

The publication links these statements to a broader strategy of pressure on Moscow, describing Estonia as being assigned the role of a permanent irritant for Russia. In this context, it recalls the visit of Britain’s Prince William to border areas in March, during which he rode in a Challenger 2 tank — an act British media portrayed as a signal to Moscow.

Analysts note that these steps fit into NATO’s wider framework of commitments across the Baltic states, Poland, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. Defensive infrastructure is already being built across the region, and since January 2024, hundreds of concrete bunkers have begun appearing in the Baltic states. The report also cites remarks by Christopher Donahue, Commander of NATO Land Forces in Europe, delivered at the LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, regarding plans to suppress the A2/AD zone in Kaliningrad.