Estonia to Provide €80 Million in Military Assistance to Ukraine
The Estonian government has approved long-term military assistance to Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression, the Baltic country's Defence Ministry reports on Twitter (X).
According to the report, the new aid package includes "a large number" of Javelin anti-tank missiles, machine guns, ammunition for light weapons, various vehicles and vessels, and diving equipment.
The agency does not disclose the exact amount of aid for security reasons.
The package is worth almost 80 million euros.
"This aid package is designed to maximise the benefits for Ukraine without compromising Estonia's own defence capabilities. We are replacing the necessary stocks," explained Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.
According to him, Estonia will continue to provide significant and sustained support to Ukraine until Kyiv wins the war, because not only Ukraine's security is at stake, but also Estonia's security, transatlantic and global security as a whole.
"Just as last year's Javelins from Estonia played a crucial role in the defence of Kyiv and inspired other countries to lend a helping hand to Ukraine, so with this large aid package we want to show that Ukraine's fight for freedom can only succeed if NATO Allies continue to help Ukrainians," he added.
As The Gaze previously reported, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in a joint statement published by Politico stressed that at the upcoming EU leaders' summit it is particularly important to demonstrate readiness for long-term support for Ukraine and to make decisions on financial and military assistance to the country, as well as to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
The leaders noted that 87% of Estonians agree that the European Union should continue to support Ukraine, while in Finland the figure is 88%.
The prime ministers recalled that the total amount of assistance to Ukraine from Estonia exceeds €400 million, and from Finland - €2.2 billion, which includes 20 military assistance packages and various humanitarian and development projects. Finland is also one of the largest donors in the EU supporting the Ukrainian energy sector.
To recap, in the US, President Joe Biden called on Congress not to give "a gift to Putin" and to approve aid to Ukraine before the holidays.
Also this week, Finland's Defence Minister decided to increase the capacity of local ammunition production to ensure long-term support for Ukraine.