The commander of the British contingent in Estonia, Brigadier Jamie Murray, said that if necessary, he would enter combat without delay. He made the remarks in an interview with Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
Murray also serves as deputy commander of the Estonian Division. He has led the British contingent since June 2025. According to him, NATO’s and Estonia’s defence plans fully complement each other, and the necessary decisions will be taken by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).
“SACEUR will make the decisions that he’s required to make. Which means that I go straight into the fight if it’s required, without delay,” he said.
The brigadier rejected claims that the Alliance might respond slowly to a potential Russian attack. He said the idea of delayed decision-making has long been used as a criticism of NATO: books and articles describe scenarios in which “something happens and NATO is asleep, or they haven’t even got out of bed in Tapa.”
“I am here to say to anybody reading that this is not true. All we do is think about how quickly we can react and how fast we can move into the positions we’re meant to move in, to stop Russia from invading,” Murray said.
British troops have been in Estonia for nine years. About 900 British soldiers are currently stationed in the country, and that number is expected to rise to nearly 1,200 next springs. The battlegroup based in Tapa is under the command of an Estonian brigade.
Murray noted a high degree of allied integration: cooperation covers both planning and the tactical level — from exchanging data on the battlefield to manoeuvre that draws on lessons from the war in Ukraine. NATO’s goal, he said, is not to attack Russia but to deter possible aggression. For the United Kingdom, the defence of Estonia equals the defence of NATO and, by extension, its own defence.
