This story is a part of the weekly newsletter about economy, defence, and tech in the eastern flank of Nato, How we cee it.
As Russia’s war against Ukraine rages into its fifth year — with stray drones, aircraft incursions and threats felt across the Baltics — the question of whether citizens are willing to defend their country is becoming increasingly important. For countries like Estonia, it has been a key research focus for years.
The latest results of the annual survey published by the Estonian ministry of defence came in on Monday (1 June). They show that while Estonians’ willingness to take part in defending the country remains high overall. However, the biggest perceived threats are misinformation and cyberattacks, not a big military conflict.
A clear majority of Estonia’s population, 81 percent, believes the country should mount armed resistance if attacked by another state, regardless of the attacker.
About 62 percent said they would be willing to take part in the defence according to their abilities and skills, unchanged from the previous two years. Willingness is markedly higher among ethnic Estonians (69 percent) than among residents of other ethnicities (48 percent).
