Estonian president thanks compatriots for opening themselves up to Ukraine, Ukrainians

  • 2022-03-17
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Estonian President Alar Karis at a concert organized in support of Ukraine at the Alexela Concert Hall in Tallinn thanked his fellow Estonians who have opened themselves up to Ukraine and Ukrainians and who are assisting Ukraine's brave army and its terrorized refugees.

"Imagine for a moment being that mother who grabs her children and a single bag of possessions before giving her husband -- if he is not already at the front -- one final kiss and joining the millions of others fleeing who knows where. We read these stories, but it is those making their way here, and those taking them in and helping them adapt to life in Estonia, who truly feel that angst and shoulder that concern," Karis said.

"Today's concert is an expression of will on the part of Estonia's cultural figures. It is truly unbelievable just how much goodwill and desire to help there is in Estonia at the moment. Thank you. I wish you all a good deal of fortitude, since your help is likely to be needed for some time yet," the president said.

Karis said that this war will not end any time soon, nor will it end once the last battle has been fought.

"It will weigh heavily on generations to come. Ukraine will need our support for a long time, and it is the debt we owe them. Because again, in defending Odessa, Mariupol and Kyiv, they are defending Berlin, Tallinn and Stockholm," he said.