Prince William sends strong message to Vladimir Putin with visit to troops in Estonia

Decked out in combat gear and commanding an armed tank, Prince William has shown his support to British troops stationed right near the Russian border.

In a strong message to Vladimir Putin, Prince William has donned combat gear and driven an armed tank as he visited a military base in Estonia, a mere 140km from the Russian border.

The Prince of Wales travelled to Estonia to support troops in what is now the British Army’s biggest operational deployment overseas, defending the Baltic state from the threat of Russia.

Prince William, Prince of Wales rides in a Challenger 2 tank while visiting British service personnel at the Tapa Army Base, northern Estonia. Picture: AFP

Prince William visits the welfare team to learn about the emotional and mental wellbeing support available to soldiers on the base. Picture: Getty Images

On Friday local time, the heir to the throne observed field training in the trenches with soldiers firing blanks and throwing white smoke grenades to obscure enemy view, and inspected military equipment guarding NATO’s eastern flank.

He asked soldiers about their deployment in terms of the “context of being so near to Russia” and wondered whether this felt more real than previous training.

As part of the visit to the nation, a former Soviet-satellite state on NATO’s frontline with Russia, Prince William was back in a camouflage uniform and was driven around in a Challenger 2 tank before being briefed about a field training exercise.

Prince William on-board a Warrior tracked vehicle to attend a field training session. Picture: Getty Images

Prince William was back in camouflage gear and was driven around in a Challenger 2 tank. Picture: Getty Images

The royal then got into a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle which took him to the trenches in ice-cold temperatures of around three degrees.

The prince’s vehicle was the last of three to arrive at the scene where soldiers from the Mercian Regiment were undertaking an exercise to spot and break into an enemy trench before capturing “high-value target” enemy troops.

As the first two Warrior vehicles arrived on the scene after spotting the trench, they opened fire on the enemy base with machine guns.

Prince William during his visit to an Estonian army base. Picture: Getty Images

The first soldiers were already firing machine guns from the vehicles into the trench as Prince William arrived, travelling in the commander’s turret of the third and final warrior vehicle to give him an “eagle-eye view” of the exercise as he arrived, The Sun reported.

Standing above the trench, Prince William had the scene explained to him by Major McNeil as gunfire sounded and smoke occasionally blocked the view of the troops.

With the royal standard flying alongside flags of NATO members, the prince was shown a selection of military vehicles including an Archer, a Challenger 2, a Warrior, a French Griffon, an MLRS and a Trojan, on Tapa’s parade square.

Prince William meets with British soldiers, Lance Corporal Victoria Wild and Lance Bombardier Madison Cain, at the base. Picture: Getty Images

Accompanied on the parade square by the Estonian commander Colonel Tarmo Kundla and Lt Colonel General Sir Ian Cave, he then spoke to groups of soldiers positioned next to each vehicle.

drive?

“I might have a go later.”

He also asked the group: “Is this your first time in Estonia?

“Well good luck, I hope it all goes really well.”

At the Warrior vehicle, after asking the soldiers about their upcoming operational exercises, he said of his visit to the base: “Hopefully this provides a bit of interest for you all and what you’re doing and keeps everyone on their toes.”

Inspecting the French Griffon “infantry fighting vehicle”, the 42-year-old heir to the throne spoke to a group of French soldiers who also serve alongside British troops at Tapa.

“It’s good to have such an international partnership,” he told them.

Prince William speaks to soldiers on top of a Challenger 2 tank while visiting British service personnel at the Tapa Army Base. Picture: AFP

Prince William also played pool in the base canteen and was challenged to a Blues v Villa table football match by Birmingham City fan Company Sergeant Major WO2 Daniel Hutton.

He later told troops: “The President was saying to me yesterday how important it is that you guys are here.

“It goes to the top of Estonian society.”

President Alar Karis told him on Thursday local time that he hoped British troops would stay, amid military talks over putting boots on the ground in Ukraine to uphold a peace deal.

Elsewhere, he discussed mental health in the military and promised to supply a fridge after hearing one was lacking.

Prince William took over the role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercians in 2023, previously held by his father.

Prince William joined soldiers from the UK and Estonia at Tapa, home to Britain's largest overseas military deployment, some 140km west of the Russian border. Picture: AFP

Prince William is seen at the front of a Swedish Archer 155mm Wheeled Self-Propelled Howitzer artillery system. Picture: AFP

The royal’s visit to Tapa was intended to highlight the role of British troops in Operation Cabrit, which involves around 900 soldiers stationed as part of NATO’s defence of the eastern flank.

Operation Cabrit is the UK’s biggest international operational deployment.

On Thursday, the Prince was given yellow and blue armbands by Ukrainian refugee children he met in Estonia

He even joined in with classes and a game of basketball at the Freedom School – a school set up for refugee children.

Prince William met with British troops at the base. Picture: Getty Images

He said that the people he met were “very strong, very smiley and very spiritual people” with “good souls”.

Prince William’s visit comes just as tensions between Russia and Europe deepen.

The EU has announced a landmark spending plan to boost defence, worth up to A$1.3 trillion, as British PM Keir Starmer pours money into the UK army.

Mr Starmer announced in February 2025 that an extra A$26 billion a year would be spent on defence from 2027.

Speaking about his decision, Mr Starmer said: “Unless Ukraine is properly protected from Putin then Europe will only become more unstable — and that will hurt us even more.

“So today I have announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.”

Originally published as Prince William sends strong message to Vladimir Putin with visit to troops in Estonia