Ukraine attack leaves Baltics wondering: Are we next?

By LIUDAS DAPKUS and KARL RITTER
Associated Press

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — To Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians — particularly those old enough to have lived under Soviet control — Russia’s belligerence toward Ukraine has some worried that they could be the Kremlin’s next target. The tensions are bringing back memories of dictatorship and oppression. The Baltic countries and Poland, which unlike Ukraine are NATO members, have been among the loudest advocates for powerful sanctions against Moscow and NATO reinforcements on the alliance’s eastern flank. Baltic government leaders in recent weeks have shuttled to European capitals, warning that the West must make Russian President Vladimir Putin pay for attacking Ukraine, or else his tanks could keep rolling toward other parts of the former Soviet empire.