In the NATO base in the north of Estonia, near the city of Tapa, everyone makes the most of what's available to create a Christmas atmosphere.
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00:00 In this NATO base in the north of Estonia, near the city of Tapa, everyone makes the
00:06 most of what's available to create a Christmas atmosphere.
00:10 A tree, Santa Claus, everything is here as in other places.
00:16 The difference is that for these soldiers, Christmas does not mean rest and relaxation.
00:24 Just 150 kilometres west of the border with Russia, this base houses 3,200 soldiers and
00:30 military personnel as part of the NATO-enhanced Forward Presence mission, sent here after
00:36 the Russian invasion of Crimea.
00:39 Since the war in Ukraine, this mission strengthened its defence with the presence of 80 soldiers
00:44 from the US Battery from Battalion Fires Brigade, equipped with four units of a high-mobility
00:49 artillery rocket system.
00:51 During peacetime, our own altogether purpose is to deter, to show that we bite if you bite.
01:00 So this is our goal during the peacetime.
01:04 But as Estonia is going to get our own Hymer systems in the year 2025, so the Americans
01:12 help us to learn the systems already now, where we don't have the systems yet.
01:19 This former Soviet military base is now the largest NATO military installation in Estonia,
01:25 aiming to send a clear message that Allies will not allow Europe to be destabilised.
01:31 In Tapa, NATO base Estonia, for Euronews, Borja Njovanovski.
01:35 [SWOOSH]