Defence Secretary praises troops stationed in Tapa 'standing tall' against Putin's aggression
Defence Secretary John Healey has addressed UK personnel stationed in Tapa and thanked them for their continued dedication to making Britain secure.
Mr Healey visited Estonia during a whistlestop 48-hour tour of Europe which also saw him make his first ministerial visits to France, Germany and Poland.
The troops' Estonia presence provides strong deterrence on Nato's eastern border with Russia.
"You, here, are the frontline of Nato and our eastern flank," Mr Healey told personnel.
He added how important it was for him to be there in Estonia.
"You, here, provide the protection for all of our Nato allies. And you help us as a nation and as an alliance stand tall in the face of Putin's aggression," said the Defence Secretary.
The Defence Secretary travelled last week to Paris to meet personnel from the RAF Regiment and British Army assisting French security services for the 2024 Olympic Games.
At the British Embassy in Paris, he chatted with UK troops and gave a warm greeting to Luna the military sniffer dog.
The security operation involves the largest peacetime deployment of security forces in France's history – with up to 75,000 police, soldiers and hired guards on patrol in Paris at any one time.
Speaking in Warsaw on Wednesday evening, Mr Healey said: "Breakfast in Paris, lunch in Berlin, dinner in Warsaw, perhaps a beer after this is over as well.
"I wanted, in just the third week of our new UK Government, to show by coming here, that we are getting on with the job.
"We are resetting relationships between the UK and Europe.
"We wanted to show that European security is the new Government's first foreign and defence policy."
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