The Warsaw–Tallinn corridor, part of Europe’s E67 from Helsinki to the Czech Republic, would allow allies to quickly move troops and equipment north, the British newspaper said.
It highlighted the 80-km Suwałki Gap between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave as a likely flashpoint whose loss would sever NATO’s land link to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
If the Baltic states were isolated, they could face the fate of occupied areas of Ukraine, the paper speculated.
The Telegraph said Poland and the Baltics are undertaking “huge efforts” to deter aggression, including anti-tank ditches and “dragon’s teeth” obstacles.
The four countries are also withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, which the report said would let them seed vulnerable borders with landmines.
Each Baltic state is “inherently vulnerable” due to limited strategic depth, the paper noted.
It added that Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO has reshaped Europe’s security map, making the Baltic Sea an internal alliance waterway and placing both shores of the Gulf of Finland—approaches to Russia's St. Petersburg—inside the bloc.
Defense spending underscores the preparations, the report said: Poland plans 4.5 percent of GDP this year, Lithuania 4 percent, Latvia 3.7 percent and Estonia 3.4 percent, outpacing the United States at 3.2 percent and Britain at 2.4 percent, according to The Telegraph.
(jh/gs)
Source: Polskie Radio 24