Ratas made his remarks after having been on the ground in Kyiv, where he met with Ukraine's leadership and even came close to being fired upon while in that city.

That Ukraine will win the war was evident from both his perspective and that of Ukraine's leadership, Ratas said.

Appearing on ETV current affairs show "Ringvaade" Friday, Ratas said: "That was our message, and it was their message: That Ukraine will win this war, and there is plenty of fighting spirit."

"There lies the separate question as to what its price will be, and how long it will last. In this, we need western help. We can see now that Ukrainian troops can push Russian troops back from Kyiv," Ratas, who returned from Ukraine on Thursday, went on.

The capital of Ukraine is, however, currently a place where half of the population has fled, while the city center is closed to traffic and danger lurks at every turn – as Ratas himself experienced first hand.

He said: "Last night (Thursday - ed), when we started to leave, the vehicle that followed after us was hit by automatic fire."

As to western aid, medical aid, ambulance, tanks, weapons and ammo were all needed at twice the pace the West is allowing for at present, as are clearer, stronger sanctions and trade embargoes.

Ukraine could only hold out for a finite amount of time with its current military and other resources, he added, though Ukrainian people were grateful for the western aid received so far.

Ratas met with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and said his meetings both with the head of state and with all other figures he talked too all reflected on thing; A fighting spirit.

As Riigikogu speaker, Ratas and his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts addressed the Ukrainian parliament – the Verkhovna Rada – and met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and met Verkhovna Rada speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, in addition to President Zelenskyy, while in Ukraine.

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