Kallas: Ukraine only wants military aid and it has not asked for much

After the Munich Security Conference, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) told ERR that the tone this time was less optimistic regarding the Ukraine war, unlike last year. She said that Ukraine is only asking for military help from the West, and not much is being asked for.
Kallas said that last year the West's expectations of a counter-offensive in Ukraine were high, but now the mood is the opposite. At the same time, she said, we should not be too pessimistic, but focus on what we can do for Ukraine.
"On the positive side, for many countries it is still clear that more needs to be done. But there are also countries that have not yet realized this, but certainly still have things in their warehouses that they could give to Ukraine," Kallas told ERR after the Munich conference.
She said Estonia is developing ideas on how to combine its advanced technology sector with the traditional defense industry to be both ready to help Ukraine and strengthen its own defense.
Kallas said that the reason for the aid to Ukraine is that over the years Europe has underinvested in defense and as a result the defense industry has not had many orders.
"The military industry has been unable to meet increased demand. That is why we must consider how we can think outside the box, how we can move faster, how we can develop better munitions, smarter equipment, and so on, precisely because this technology side must evolve as well. And on the good side, I've had meetings here with some of the major defense industry players in the world, and luckily, we see these things in pretty much the same light, there's still a momentum there," she said.
Kallas said there could be more political will in the West to help: "There could be more. But, for example, a prime minister of a country in the middle of Europe, or rather in Western Europe, said to me that now it is beginning to dawn on their people that we have to do this, who have much nicer neighbors than we do. But it all took too long, too long for us. Ukraine is fighting on its own, and the only thing they are asking us for is actually military assistance to help them do it, and that is not much to ask," the prime minister said.
The Czech authorities estimate that it is possible to find several hundred thousand rounds of ammunition for Ukraine from all over the world at once. Kallas said that all these possibilities should be used to send aid to Ukraine.
"The President of the Czech Republic has dealt with this issue and has, so to speak, found out how much there is. I can't say at the moment, but certainly we need to discuss this at the European level, and especially with the countries that have not done that much, to make sure that the Ukrainians get this help now – so that they can defend themselves now." Kallas said.
Kallas is still Kallas is still on the fence about European candidacy about European candidacy
Kallas told ERR that she has not yet decided whether to stand as the frontrunner for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) in the upcoming elections.
"The Spitzenkandidat nomination would be for the position of President of the European Commission, but given its small size, the Liberals have a slim chance of winning this post," she said.
So the nomination would be for the purpose of four debates and to help out the liberal parties across Europe, she said. "And what's positive from the Estonian point of view is that Estonia is part of Europe also from the Western Europe where they feel that I'm the face that could help them improve their results in those countries."
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Editor: Merili Nael, Kristina Kersa