Estonian defmin: Ukraine must be supported for as long as necessary

TALLINN - Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur took part on Thursday in a meeting of 24 states with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov in Copenhagen, led by Denmark and the United Kingdom, to discuss the continued provision of military aid to Ukraine.

"A breaking point has now been reached in this war. Military aid has helped Ukraine defend its country against Russia's aggression. In order to win the war, Ukraine continuously needs our support, however," Pevkur said.

"Aid by Estonia to Ukraine has been noteworthy but we must not tire and, thus, I greatly appreciate the allies' initiative to bring together various contributors and find opportunities to further support Ukraine by increasing the training provided for Ukraine and production of European weapons industry," the Estonian minister of defense said.

Estonia has provided Ukraine with close to 245 million euros' worth of military aid in the form of Javelin anti-tank missile systems, howitzers, anti-tank mines, anti-tank grenade launchers, mortars and other equipment.

In cooperation with Germany, Estonia donated to Ukraine a field hospital and medical supplies to the tune of almost 10 million euros.

"In the near future, our government wants to roll out a diverse military aid package to Ukraine. We must not forget that decisions to support Ukraine today also strengthen our security and reduce Russia's strength to take unpredictable action in our region," Pevkur said.

The meeting also saw the defense minister discuss Russia's actions and the changed security situation.

Pevkur also held separate meetings with the defense ministers of Ukraine, Sweden and the United Kingdom to discuss bilateral defense cooperation.