TALLINN, ESTONIA – Estonia’s top diplomat thinks Russia’s war on Ukraine goes well beyond the front lines.

«This is not about Europe. I think that for Putin and for Russia, the U.S. is the main enemy, like historically,» Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Fox News in an exclusive interview in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. 

«He has a plan to restore the Soviet empire, and this is exactly what he’s doing. Ukraine is just one example,» he added. 

Nine years ago, Tsahkna, then serving as Estonia’s defense minister, watched as 120,000 Russian soldiers massed just across the border, ready to invade his country in just 48 hours. 

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«Now these troops are gone. They were sent to Ukraine, and they are literally dead,» Tsahkna spoke from the foreign ministry Wednesday, where he now serves as Estonia’s top diplomat. 

«At the moment, I don’t expect any kind of the full-scale military aggression against NATO because Russia is running out of power in Ukraine, to be honest,» Tsahkna added. «Economically, they’re very weak, but of course, we see that Russia is preparing again.» 

Estonia is not taking any chances.

To ward off any potential invasion on NATO’s eastern flank, Estonia recently announced it would spend over 5% of its GDP on defense next year, a goal President Donald Trump has requested from all NATO countries. 

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On Wednesday, Estonia officially welcomed the arrival of six HIMARS satellite-guided rocket systems made in the United States. It’s a weapon that has been used in Ukraine effectively, destroying targets up to 186 miles away. 

«We have created, as Estonians, the rule that if the U.S. is investing $1, we are adding $10 on top of that. And all this going back to [sic] goes back to the U.S. economy, and we are getting the capabilities,» Tsahkna said. 

In recent weeks, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland announced they would withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of anti-personnel land mines. Russia, which is not party to the treaty, has deployed mines in the roughly 20% of Ukraine it now occupies. 

Estonia is a small country of 1.3 million people located in Eastern Europe, with an area about twice the size of New Jersey, It shares a 214-mile border with Russia.

Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna attends a press conference after a meeting of ministers from the member countries of the Nordic-Baltic Eight on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, April 29, 2025. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix)

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, Estonia has cut off all energy imports from Russia. Today, it receives 80% of its natural gas from the United States. 

Not all countries have been as defiant. The 27-nation European Union, of which Estonia is a member, has only cut 60% of its energy imports from Russia. Last year, the European Union spent more on Russian oil and gas than aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute. 

The Kremlin is also waging war on another front as well. «Russia is using religion of the church as a tool for their own political goals,» Tsahkna said. 

The foreign minister also weighed in on Russia’s proposed three-day ceasefire surrounding its May 9 celebrations marking the end of World War II. «This is not that serious,» Tsahkna replied.

RUSSIA DECLARES 3-DAY CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE FOR WWII VICTORY DAY

Since late 2023, nearly a dozen undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland have been cut. Russia is suspected but «it’s very hard to say exactly,» Tsahkna said. Over 14 people from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet have been arrested. China is suspected of carrying out at least one act of sabotage as well. 

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since their Oval Office spat in February. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)

NATO deployed warships off the coast of Estonia in January, and since then no cables have been cut, officers told Fox while on two ships in the Gulf of Finland Tuesday. 

When asked about the prospects of a ceasefire and eventual end of hostilities in Ukraine, Tsahkna replied with a warning: 

«President Trump has said very clearly that he wants to have peace. The Ukraine [sic] people want to have a [sic] peace – and I think that this is something that Putin doesn’t want.»

Tsahkna does not believe Putin would ever use nuclear weapons, calling such a move «political suicide.» 

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«He’s just brutal, but also sometimes, from the Western part of the world, we are too weak,» Tsahkna added. «Putin is playing with our fears.»

El Día del Trabajador este año se celebra en medio de tensiones crecientes entre las dos grandes potencias mundiales. China mantiene el pulso a las temerarias medidas arancelarias lanzadas por el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, pero no esconde las preocupaciones por los daños generalizados que puedan surgir de esta guerra arancelaria.

En el programa de televisión NewsNation., Trump dijo que hay «muy buenas posibilidades de llegar a un acuerdo» con China sobre los aranceles, así como también con India, Corea del Sur y Japón.»Pero lo haremos en nuestros términos y tendrá que ser justo», matizó.

China ha movido ficha y busca diversificar aún más sus mercados. Mira a la Unión Europea y enfría las tensiones que habían mantenido hace meses. De hecho, China acaba de levantar las sanciones a cinco eurodiputados. Este acercamiento entre ambas partes, también manifestado en la reciente visita del presidente del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, a China, parece reflejar un interés común de posicionarse a favor de la cooperación en medio de la incertidumbre generada desde EE.UU.

Las condiciones laborales han sido un talón de Aquiles para China a la hora de negociar comercialmente con la UE. Por eso, los movimientos de los últimos meses son tan significativos. Aunque hay que subrayar que los movimientos de China buscan también dar solución a los propios desafíos demográficos en el segundo país más poblado del mundo.

China tiene una fuerza trabajadora de 772 millones de personas, pero experimenta una tendencia a la baja desde hace años por el envejecimiento poblacional, lo que ha motivado medidas históricas como el aumento gradual de la edad de jubilación y el incremento del periodo mínimo de cotización para percibir una pensión básica.

En 2024 se acordó implementar el aumento gradual de la edad de jubilación, a fin de responder a un problema de escasez de mano de obra, vinculada a 36 años de política del hijo único hasta 2015. La edad de jubilación se irá aumentando gradualmente, a razón de 1 mes cada 4 meses, hasta que en 2030 se alcance la edad estipulada: para hombres de 60 a 63 años, y para mujeres de 50 a 55, o de 55 a 58 años, según el desempeño profesional. También se incrementa el periodo mínimo de aportes para percibir pensión básica, que pasará de los actuales 15 años, a los 20 años en 2030.

A pesar de la desaceleración del crecimiento económico, la tasa de desempleo se ha mantenido relativamente baja, en un 5,3% en una reciente encuesta publicada.

Sin embargo, uno de los aspectos que más preocupa al Gobierno chino es la baja empleabilidad de los jóvenes, quienes alargan su etapa formativa por falta de oportunidades laborales. De ahí, la importancia que se ha dado en China a la campaña activada hace unos días para promocionar la empleabilidad de los graduados universitarios. “Los graduados universitarios y los jóvenes son recursos humanos valiosos”, resalta la circular del Ministerio de Recursos Humanos y Seguridad Social. El ministerio dará subsidios a las empresas que contraten a jóvenes y graduados.

Beijing reconoce estas debilidades, pero también promociona sus fortalezas, tales como contar con una cadena de producción completa y una fuerza laboral bien capacitada. Esto convierte a China en un destino atractivo para empresas extranjeras, especialmente para empresas líderes mundiales del sector de la alta tecnología.

A la par, las condiciones laborales y los salarios han ido mejorando en los últimos años, respondiendo al propio desarrollo social del país y a su adaptación a estándares internacionales. De hecho, los intereses comerciales entre China y la Unión Europea podrían haber presionado para que se aceleren ciertas políticas de mejoras laborales, sobre todo las vinculadas a los días de trabajo semanales.

En medio de desafíos arancelarios, China ha querido demostrar que está dispuesta a seguir avanzando en la mejora del ámbito laboral. Y también está convencida en mantener la tasa de desempleo urbano en el 5,5%, algo que está cumpliendo por el momento. Entre sus planes, está la creación de 12 millones de nuevos puestos de trabajo en las grandes urbes, mientras se pone en marcha políticas de incentivo para las empresas que contraten a desempleados de larga duración o para aquellas que no despidan a ningún trabajador, a pesar de las incertidumbres económicas.

Entre otras medidas aplicadas por el Gobierno chino para promocionar la empleabilidad y la mejora de las condiciones laborales se encuentran: mejora del seguro médico básico, incluyendo más de 90 nuevos medicamentos y tratamientos de fertilidad; mayores prestaciones por enfermedad o invalidez; flexibilidad de la edad jubilatoria; reducción de requisitos de transferencia transfronteriza de datos de los empleados, a fin de agilizar y reducir trámites administrativos y facilitar a empresas extranjeras operar en China.

Por Nerea Hernández, Beijing, RFI

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., said the United States is in a «constitutional crisis» after appearing alongside President Donald Trump in Michigan on his 100th day as president. 

Jon Favreau, former President Barack Obama’s speechwriter turned «Pod Save America» host, asked Whitmer in a social media clip posted Wednesday if the U.S. is in a «constitutional crisis» – just one day after she greeted Trump on the tarmac in Michigan before his speech to National Guard members. 

«We are,» Whitmer said. «I think that no one is above the law. The thought that we’ve got an administration that is just blatantly violating court orders should, I think, scare everybody. This is a very serious moment.»

Democrats have consistently described the country’s current political moment as a «constitutional crisis» since Trump returned to the White House about 100 days ago. While Whitmer has warned of the «peril» Trump’s tariffs will have on Michigan’s auto industry and urged him to deliver disaster relief to her constituents impacted by ice storms, the Democratic governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate has struck a more diplomatic tone than her colleagues in the past 100 days. 

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«Trump is currently investigating Michigan colleges and universities for their diversity policies. He’s already tried to kick dozens of Michigan foreign students out of the country. He’s threatening to unlawfully freeze federal funding for Michigan public schools, as he’s already doing that in Maine, because Governor Mills spoke up in a meeting. Have you asked the president to stop targeting people and institutions in your state?» Favreau challenged Whitmer in a subsequent social media clip posted Wednesday. 

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER DIVIDES DEMOCRATS AFTER APPEARANCES WITH TRUMP IN MICHIGAN AND AT WHITE HOUSE

«I have not had that direct conversation on this subject yet, but I’m not afraid to do that,» Whitmer said. 

«Isn’t it worth speaking up for the rights and the freedoms of those people when you’re at an event with him, or you are in a meeting with him?» Favreau asked, articulating the criticism Whitmer has faced within the Democratic Party for her treatment of Trump. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer found herself in the Oval Office this month as President Donald Trump signed an executive order. (Getty Images)

«Whenever I get the opportunity, I use every minute of that to cover a lot of different issues. So this is, I think, a very important one that you’re raising. There’s no question. And I will continue whenever I have opportunities to make sure that I’m covering as much as I can. No question,» Whitmer said. 

BLUE STATE GOVERNOR MAKES ANOTHER APPEARANCE WITH TRUMP BEFORE HIS 100-DAY SPEECH: ‘HAPPY WE’RE HERE’

Returning to the question of a «constitutional crisis,» Whitmer said, «Many of us are fighting the fights we can,» but it’s the court of law that should «have the last word.»

«I hope that we finally see some backbone out of some of the Republicans in Congress to stand up to the courts to enforce their orders. There are a lot of people that aren’t doing their jobs to protect the foundations of this country,» Whitmer added, shifting blame onto congressional Republicans for not standing up to Trump. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer looks on as President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The clips were posted one day after Whitmer appeared alongside Trump ahead of his 100th day rally in Michigan. Whitmer successfully lobbied Trump to retire an A-10 Warthog aircraft based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets.

Trump thanked Whitmer for bringing the issue to his attention and once again applauded her job as governor. Whitmer’s diplomatic moves seemed to put her out of step with her party on Tuesday as Democratic governors, many similarly rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, instead hosted a counter-programming event to Trump’s speech slamming his first 100 days in office. 

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer criticized President Donald Trump’s tariffs while agreeing with him that the United States «needs to make more stuff in America» on April 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Whitmer hid behind a folder in the Oval Office in an image that went viral and earned her the ire of Democrats discontent with her diplomacy. The Michigan governor found herself in the corner of the Oval Office for a press conference where Trump praised her, after consistently ridiculing her on the 2024 campaign trail. 

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The Michigan governor’s trip to Washington last month brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she directly engaged with Trump. Whitmer’s office explained that she was meeting with Trump to discuss recovery aid for the northern Michigan ice storm, investing in Michigan’s defense assets and building the American economy for everyday Michiganders. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.