How Baltic nations are working to fortify their border with Russia

Geoff Bennett:

Russian officials have described one of their top priorities at tomorrow's summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin to be normalizing relations with the U.S. on topics beyond Ukraine.

And that concerns European officials, who consider Russia a long-term threat and believe Moscow is producing enough weapons to one day attack members of NATO too.

Nick Schifrin recently sat down with Estonia's defense minister about the Baltic nation's increasingly fortified border with Russia, a story documented with the help of journalists from the University of British Columbia's Global Reporting Program.

Nick Schifrin:

For 16 hours a day, this Lithuanian factory is buzzing. Massive machines alongside workers build barriers by the hundreds. They're called dragon's teeth, concrete pyramids, each one hundreds of pounds, and more than foot-thick metal rod roadblocks. They're called hedgehogs, a storybook name for a serious purpose, protection against a Russian invasion like Ukraine.

Donatas Jankauskas, CEO, Gelmesta (through interpreter):

It's about the defense of our country and the security of our people.

Nick Schifrin:

Donatas Jankauskas is the CEO of Gelmesta. Its barriers might be low-tech, but they're highly efficient. The size, weight and angle of the dragon's teeth stop enemy tanks in their tracks.

And, in Northeast Lithuania, American and Lithuanian troops train fewer than 10 miles from the Belarusian border, where hundreds of dragons' teeth are already glaring, at the ready to stop Russian tanks. Lithuania is not alone fearing an attack from neighboring Russia. Up the road in Eastern Estonia, the Narva Bridge, 500 feet, separating the European Union on one side from Russia on the far side, and before it barbed wire, several rows of dragon's teeth and additional massive metal gates, which Estonia began installing earlier this month.

It's part of the Baltic defense line launched last year, a more-than-500-mile-long defense system constructed by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia along the Russian and Belarusian borders, with thousands of barriers like these in Latvia, hundreds of bunkers seen here being battle-tested in Estonia, and miles of anti-tank trenches all spanning across NATO's historic Eastern flank.

Donald Trump, President of the United States: Thank you very much. This has been an honor.

Nick Schifrin:

After years of questioning NATO, this summer, at the NATO summit in The Hague, President Trump praised the alliance and the other 31 heads of state he just met with, who pledged to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.

Donald Trump:

And I left here differently. I left here saying that these people really love their countries. It's not a ripoff and we're here to help them protect their country.

Man:

Fire!

Nick Schifrin:

Part of the U.S.' part in that protection, a handful of American soldiers deployed in the Baltics who train on American weapons, like this multiple-launch rocket system in Estonia.

Hanno Pevkur is Estonia's defense minister.

Can Estonia rely on President Trump to come to Estonia's defense if attacked by Russia?

Hanno Pevkur, Estonian Minister of Defense: I believe all the NATO allies can rely on President Trump, because President Trump said very clearly in The Hague that the United States is a strong ally to everyone.

Dear Pete, thank you.

Nick Schifrin:

Pevkur recently visited Washington to meet Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, alongside fellow Baltic defense ministers.

The message they heard, the Trump administration is trying to focus on the Indo-Pacific, not Europe.

Hanno Pevkur:

We clearly understand the administration message that they will focus more on the INDOPAC. So this is not news. And that also probably means that there will be reduction forces in Europe. This is also fine. I believe that Europeans have to take more responsibility, and we are doing that.

Nick Schifrin:

That message echoed to me at The Hague by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary-General:

We can defend ourselves now, but there is a big risk in three, five, seven years from now without the extra spending.

Hanno Pevkur:

When we take the plans approved by the Russian government, and we see that they are ramping up their defense industry, they are also increasing their troops, number of troops, so they will go up to 1.5 million troops. They will bring to our neighborhood two to nine times more equipment.

It consists from the attack helicopters, armed personnel carriers, infantry (INAUDIBLE) vehicles, tanks, et cetera. So, my question is very simple then. When Russia wants to be in a good relationship with the West, why to make these changes?

Nick Schifrin:

What have you learned from Ukraine that you are applying to your own defense?

Hanno Pevkur:

We have to bring home all the lessons learned from Ukraine. For instance, we had the biggest NATO exercise this year called the Hedgehog, where we had 18,000 troops in the Estonian forests. We also trained combat exercises against the drones or together with the drones.

Nick Schifrin:

I spoke to a Ukrainian officer recently who played a red team up in the Baltics pretending to be a Russian drone unit, and NATO troops really struggled against that red team Russian drone unit. Do you acknowledge that NATO has a lot to learn?

Hanno Pevkur:

NATO has a lot to learn, of course. We all need to be ready. And this is why we are training. This is why we are cooperating also with Ukrainians, to be better and to be ready to defend and protect our people.

Tomas Milasauskas, CEO, RSI Europe:

We have been under Russian occupation for hundreds of years, and it's just a matter of question when they will come again.

Nick Schifrin:

Tomas Milasauskas is one of those Lithuanians cooperating with Ukraine by building drones that are already being used on the battlefield. He says Lithuanian history, from subject of the Russian empire, to Soviet satellite, to independence in 1991, proves the country will always face a threatening neighbor.

Tomas Milasauskas:

The 30-year gap that we have as independent country, it's just a very short, short glimpse in the history that we're having. This is a civilization battle. The outcome, of course, is up to US.

Nick Schifrin:

Preparing for that possible battle is a national effort. These aren't soldiers, but ordinary citizens in Lithuania's National Defense Volunteer Forces. For them, Ukraine is a wakeup call.

Vladislav Krivel, Lithuanian Volunteer Soldier:

We need to protect our freedom, because there is no one who will come and fight for you as well as you would do.

Nick Schifrin:

Vladislav Krivel's day job is at a nuclear power plant. He says they have to be ready to defend their own land.

Vladislav Krivel:

You can see that in Ukraine, that they're getting all these promises that someone will help them, but, in reality, only Ukrainians are responsible for their defense. So it goes the same way for us.

Nick Schifrin:

And so the Baltics will bolster their defenses, hoping they will not have to fight the European war that continues to rage.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.