Defense minister: NATO countries should keep up military aid to Ukraine
Ukraine's defenders are in constant need of more ammunition, heavy weaponry and winter equipment, among other supplies, while NATO member states should coordinate this aid, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) told ETV news show 'Aktuaalne kaamera' (AK) Friday.
Pevkur, who had met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Friday, told AK that: "The Secretary General's message to me was that we actually all have to take a look, together, at which countries can raise the production of ammunition as easily and quickly as possible, since the quantities that are being used in Ukraine from various howitzers and other heavy weapons are quite substantial."
Pevkur was in Ukraine earlier this week, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Tuesday, meaning he saw for himself the situation on the ground there.
Howitzers themselves, a key weapon – Estonia itself has contributed to their supply to Ukrainian forces – are also at a premium, Pevkur said.
"Every day, Ukraine loses howitzers to various causes. Of course, they also repair them. There were significantly more details than that, but one thing is very certain, namely that Jens Stoltenberg stands with Ukraine," Pevkur went on.
Other topics on the table were the creation of the divisional staff command planned for Estonia, and the overall defensive picture of the three Baltic States and their continued development.
Both of these process should be wrapped up by the time of the NATO summit in Vilnius next summer, Pevkur said.
In the more immediate term, supplying Ukraine for the upcoming winter was also discussed.
Estonia recently supplied a second military hospital to Ukraine, having already done so in March.
NATO's highest Military Authority, the Military Committee, is convening in Tallinn for a three-day meeting Friday to Sunday, looking at strategic developments, NATO operations, missions and activities.
You can watch the ensuing conference here.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte