Luik is on a visit to Ukraine to attend events marking the 26th anniversary of Ukrainian independence.

In his meeting with Turchynov, Luik said that Estonia would continue to support Ukraine politically and also in practical cooperation in the field of defense, spokespeople for the Estonian Ministry of Defense said.

Estonia will continue its cooperation with Ukraine in the training of special operations units and in the field of military medicine, and will continue sharing its cyber know-how.

“Although we are a small country, we too can help Ukraine by focusing what we have to offer. We believe that support for Ukraine provided by Estonia and other NATO member states is extremely important,” Luik said.

Poroshenko said in his meeting with Luik that the war in Eastern Ukraine continued, and that the number of civilian casualties had grown significantly this year. The Ukrainian state wanted peace, for the achievement of which it needed continued the solidarity and unity of its transatlantic partners. The unity of the West had made Russia pay a high price for its aggression, the Ukrainian president said.

Luik described Estonia’s support of Ukraine as steadfast, and said that it understood very well the strong link between Ukraine’s fight and its own security. Estonia supported the continuation of the sanctions imposed on Russia, he added.

On Thursday Luik attended the Independence Day parade in Kiev, in which also a four-strong Estonian color guard of the Guard Battalion took part. The color guard’s officer was the commander of the Guard Battalion, Maj. Martin Kukk, and the flag bearer the head of the battalion’s ceremony service, 2nd Lt. Sander Karask.

Estonia supports Ukraine in the training of special operations forces and in the field of military medicine. Up to now 64 wounded Ukrainian soldiers have undergone rehabilitation in Estonia. In addition, Ukrainian medics have attended training programs here.