Estonia Trains Over 1300 Ukrainian Military Personnel in Two Years

Estonia has trained more than 1300 Ukrainian military personnel over the course of two years. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Estonian Defence Forces provided training to Ukrainian counterparts, constituting one-sixth of the total number of Estonian military personnel trained during the same period. This information was reported by the Estonian publication ERR, citing the Estonian Ministry of Defence.

According to Roland Murof, a spokesperson for the Estonian Ministry of Defence, Ukrainian military personnel in Estonia received basic military training, and Estonian forces also trained artillerymen, snipers, riflemen, and cyber warfare specialists.

Taavi Laasik, a press officer at the Estonian Defense Forces Headquarters, added that the training of Ukrainian military personnel would bring practical benefits to both Estonia and Ukraine.

"Knowledge and experience exchange is an integral part of every training course, and it is a two-way process. The Estonian Defence Forces closely monitor developments in Ukraine and gather feedback and experience from Ukrainian units and soldiers undergoing training here," he explained.

The expenses for the preparation of Ukrainian military personnel were covered at both bilateral and European Union Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM) levels. As of November, within the framework of this mission, 34,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been trained.

In December, the Estonian government allocated an additional military aid package of 80 million euros to Ukraine. This new aid package includes a "significant quantity" of Javelin anti-tank missiles, machine guns, ammunition for light weapons, various vehicles, and vessels, as well as diving equipment.

Earlier, The Gaze reported that another Baltic country, Latvia, plans to quadruple the number of training sessions for Ukrainian military personnel in 2023. In the current year, Latvia has prepared over 1,500 Ukrainian military personnel, covering areas such as basic military training, officer and sergeant training, sapper training, and marksmanship.

Additionally, last year, the United Kingdom launched Operation Interflex, involving 10 partner countries, which trained 30,000 Ukrainian military personnel.