Estonia will join arms purchases for Kyiv

Estonia will join arms purchases for Kyiv

Estonia will join the purchase of American-made weapons for Ukraine under the PURL initiative and is ready to send a military contingent to Ukraine if such a move is approved by the Coalition of the Willing.

This was stated by the President of Estonia, Alar Karis, during a press conference in Brussels together with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

«The USA-NATO PURL armament initiative is excellent in this context. I want to emphasize today that Estonia fully supports this initiative. We are pleased to participate in these efforts. Estonia will continue to support Ukraine, defending its freedom», said Karis.

He added that Estonia has spent 0.3 percent of its GDP on direct military support to Ukraine just this year, noting that the country’s defence industry is working more closely with Ukraine’s defence industry.

The President emphasized that Ukraine deserves to end the war, but Estonia knows from its own history that only a «well-guaranteed peace can be stable and long-lasting».

«The Estonian government is ready to send troops as part of the Coalition of the Willing to ensure and support peace in Ukraine. We continue to participate in this planning», – he said.

At the same time, Karis emphasized that proximity to Russia does not necessarily mean a greater threat in modern warfare, considering missile technology.

He highlighted the importance of the presence of American troops on European territory and added that he plans to meet with the commander of US forces in Europe to discuss this issue.