UK Troops on Standby to Defend NATO Member Estonia From Russia

Thousands of British troops will be put on standby to be deployed to Estonia's border with Russia, as part of a new NATO defence strategy.

The agreement signed by Defence Secretary John Healey and his Estonian counterpart will see the Army's 4th Brigade put on "high readiness" and could see soldiers sent to NATO's eastern flank within 10 days of being called up.

NATO operates under the model of collective defence which is enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty, where an attack on one ally is seen as an attack on all members.

The agreement will come into effect in July 2025.

The 4th Brigade, based at Bourlon Barracks in West Yorkshire, are specialists in operating in the Baltic terrain. Some 1,000 British troops are already deployed to Estonia.

Healey said: "As global threats increase, the UK's unshakeable commitment to Nato has never been more important. We are boosting our support for Estonia, with thousands of troops ready to deploy rapidly to the Russian border."

The secretary of state agreed to plans to lead the new air defence system, the Diamond (Delivering Integrated Air and Missile Operational Networked Defences) initiative. Diamond will integrate member states' missile defences as well as see European allies develop new long-range weapons.

"This is part of the UK's new determination to work more closely with other European allies on security for the future, and Europe's security is guaranteed by this Nato alliance," Healey said.

The secretary of state's remarks regarding European defence comes as the government seeks closer ties with the EU, particularly on security matters.

The president admitted, however, "We understand that NATO membership is a matter of the future, not the present."

Zelenskyy also said three secret addendums to the plan would not be published and would be shared only with NATO and the United States.

So far, Western leaders have not given public support to Zelenskyy's request to remove the weapons restrictions.

Speaking from NATO headquarters, Healey reiterated the UK's support for Ukraine. He said: "We, as Ukraine's supporters, must do everything we can to step up our support for Ukraine in the weeks and months ahead, to put more pressure on Russia, to ensure that Ukraine can prevail, because the defence of Europe starts in Ukraine.

"They're fighting for the same values and same beliefs and same freedoms that we prize and we owe them that duty to stand with them for as long as it takes."

The NAO also found that training Ukrainian troops had reduced the British armed forces' capacity to maintain their own training programmes, with over a quarter of the Army's training estate used in 2023 for Operation Interflex, the UK's Ukrainian troop training initiative.

PA Media contributed to this report.