EDITORIAL ⟩ We need helicopters and drones

I forgot it again, my dear Hedgehog – when it comes to the orc shadow fleet, should I strike edgewise or flat?* You should strike with a drone, Kalevipoeg!... But forget about it, this one got away. Cartoon of the day. Illustration: Urmas Nemvalts Photo: Postimees

On Tuesday evening, the Estonian Navy carried out an operation in our exclusive economic zone against the tanker Jaguar, which was sailing under the flag of Gabon. Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur has stated publicly that Estonia's primary objective was to ensure the safety of underwater infrastructure, which was successfully achieved, and that the tanker was escorted out of our economic waters.

Of course, it was a vessel belonging to Russia's shadow fleet, from which anything can be expected, and Estonia's reaction was necessary. But was our real goal to detain the ship, as was done in April with the tanker Kiwala, or was the aim merely to scare the Jaguar away from our waters?

We may never know the true objective of the operation, but if we intended to detain the tanker and failed, this is something for Estonian authorities to reflect on. The course of the war in Ukraine has shown that Russia is capable of learning, and it is equally capable when it comes to conducting hybrid operations and protecting its shadow fleet. The first time, Estonia succeeded in detaining the ship because we had the element of surprise: Estonia had enough confidence, political will, and technical capability to carry it out. This time, they were already prepared for our move.