If the purpose of royal visits is to send a message, then the image of the Prince of Wales in a tank near the Russian border is certainly one of the most direct.
Prince William has arrived. to Estonia to visit members of the British army.
The contingent of British soldiers in Estonia is the largest deployment of members of the British Army to a foreign country to date, with the aim, as explained, of defending the Baltic state from the Russian threat.
On Friday, in freezing weather and a mud-covered military training area, the prince greeted soldiers and saw military equipment deployed to protect the eastern flank of the NATO military-political alliance.
The prince, dressed in camouflage uniform, peering out of a Challenger 2 tank and then an armoured fighting vehicle, sent a signal of Britain's commitment to deterring any aggression by Russia.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, reiterates that Russia does not and has never had any pretensions to attack other countries and that The West has deceived Russia many times, claiming that it will not spread to the East.
- Can European ground troops help secure peace in Ukraine?
- NATO must shift to wartime mindset, warns alliance secretary general
- What is NATO and why Moscow does not trust it
During a two-day visit to Estonia, Prince William visited some of the 900 British soldiers in this multinational force, including members of the Mercian Regiment, of which the prince is Colonel-in-Chief.
He saw forces at the military training ground at Camp Tapa - part of Operation Cabrit, in which a British Army brigade is kept on standby for NATO's "collective security and defence" in this Baltic region.
The goal is to deter Russia, and the base represents the strength of this flank of NATO.
Before Estonia gained independence in 1991, this was a Soviet air defense base, with MIG fighter jets, built as a form of counteraction to the West during the Cold War. Cold War.
Now the positions are reversed, and the Estonian military and their NATO allies are training here to prevent a possible incursion by Russian forces.
In addition to riding in a Challenger 2 tank, the prince saw the Warrior armored vehicle, as well as the French Griffon combat vehicle, a multiple rocket system, and a Trojan obstacle clearance vehicle.
William drove the Archer mobile artillery system (Archer).
The Challenger 2 was built in the 1990s, but it is much more advanced than other tanks previously used by the Ukrainian army.
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine used T-72 tanks created in the Warsaw Pact, and since February 2022, it has received more than 200 T-72 tanks from Poland, the Czech Republic, and some other countries.
The war in Ukraine has shown how quickly combat technology is changing.
During a visit to an IT center in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, Prince William was presented with a hydrogen-powered drone.
Hundreds of Estonians waited in the cold to see the prince in Tallinn, with many shaking his hand and taking selfies.
He was warmly welcomed in this small, technologically advanced country, which is increasingly reliant on allies.
Estonia strongly supports Ukraine, shares a border with Russia and was formerly under Soviet rule.
Ukrainian flags are flying throughout the capital, alongside the Estonian blue and black-and-white tricolor.
Many Ukrainian families fled the war to Estonia.
During a visit to a school in Tallinn for Ukrainian refugee children, Prince William praised the strength of Ukraine.
"Ukrainian resilience is everywhere," Prince William told the students.
"You have a very strong spirit, very good souls, that is very important."
- Is it possible to be outside military alliances in the 21st century
- Russia's neighbors are calling on NATO allies to restore mandatory military service
- Why is there talk of mandatory military service in the Balkans again?
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us HERE.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube i Viber. If you have a topic proposal for us, contact us at bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
Bonus video:
