Estonia's defense ministry tight-lipped about Ukraine aid support recipients
For security reasons, the defense minister will not disclose which Estonian companies have received financial support to aid Ukraine. A total of €200 million has been provided to companies over the past two years.
"For security reasons, the names of the companies selected under the Ukraine aid package are not public information," Ministry of Defense spokesperson Ines Edur told ERR.
She explained that under the measure for procuring products from Estonia's defense industry, the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) announces a tender open to all companies registered in Estonia that meet its requirements.
An expert committee at RKIK then checks whether applicants meet the requirements. The committee includes representatives from the Estonian Defense Forces, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
"A catalog of products and services from companies that meet the requirements is sent to Ukraine, which makes its selection based on its critical needs. RKIK then signs contracts with the companies selected by Ukraine and the aid is delivered to Ukraine," Edur said.
She added that in 2025 and 2026, a total of €200 million worth of products from Estonia's defense industry have been procured for Ukraine under the measure.
According to Edur, the government has set a target of supporting Ukraine with at least 0.25 percent of GDP annually, while last year the figure reached 0.35 percent of GDP. "It is important to note that this money is divided among several different areas of support for Ukraine," the MoD spokesperson emphasized.
Edur said military aid to Ukraine in 2025 and 2026 was divided as follows: "90 percent for the measure to procure Estonian defense industry products for Ukraine, 5 percent for the Estonia-Luxembourg-led IT Coalition (with options being explored to channel the funding through Estonian companies) and 5 percent to fund military training for Ukrainian service members," Edur said.
"One of the conditions of the defense industry measure is that at least 40 percent of the production process for products and services submitted in the tender must take place in Estonia," she said.
According to Edur, products and services procured for Ukraine have included unmanned systems, medical equipment and countermeasure systems.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Marcus Turovski
