"Several Estonian defence industry companies are already operating in Ukraine today, but we see that defence industry cooperation clearly needs to be more efficient, especially regarding product testing and practical usability, so they meet the needs of Estonian Defence Forces," said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur. According to Pevkur, the agreement also allows companies to scale up volumes more quickly to meet demand once a product has entered production.
Through the new "Build with Ukraine" initiative, Estonia plans to allocate 15 per cent, or nearly 15 million euros, of its 2027 aid measure to support joint production projects. Several Estonian companies have expressed interest in starting cooperation with Ukrainian partners to produce attack and interceptor drones, as well as electronic warfare solutions. Likewise, Ukrainian companies have shown interest in establishing production facilities in Estonia, which would allow them better access to European and other markets.
During his three-day visit, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur also participated in the Estonian-Ukrainian Defence Industry Forum and delivered a speech at the Kyiv Security Forum, where he noted that the fear-mongering narratives recently spreading internationally primarily promote Russia's interests. "The more we repeat Russia's narratives, the less we support Ukraine, and that is exactly what Putin wants," said Pevkur. According to Pevkur we must stay vigilant when it comes to Russia, but one must always rely on threat assessments.
As part of the visit, the defence minister also familiarised himself with a Ukrainian drone centre and production capabilities, visited the memorial for the perished children of Ukraine, and met with veterans of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. "I had a great opportunity to meet with Ukrainian veterans on Veterans Day and see how quite a few of them have found the opportunity to establish their own defence-related company after their service, which on the one hand has helped them find self-realisation while still remaining useful to the state," noted Pevkur.
Estonia has committed to allocating at least 0.25 per cent of its GDP annually for military support to Ukraine. By 2026, the financial volume of this commitment will reach approximately 110.7 million euros; in the coming years, the focus of the aid will primarily be on acquiring drones and anti-drone systems, as well as supporting the Estonian and Ukrainian defence industries.
Alongside material aid, Estonia, together with Luxembourg, leads the international IT coalition, which has to date raised approximately 1.4 billion euros. This year, Estonia is contributing 5.7 million euros to this initiative with the aim of developing the information and communication technology infrastructure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to bring communication systems into compliance with NATO standards and help maintain a technological advantage on the battlefield.
In addition to technological support, Estonia contributes to the training of Ukrainian troops, having trained over 2,000 military personnel and currently focusing on Operation Legio, where Estonia is increasing the number of instructors to 27. The focus of the training is on conducting both basic soldier courses and training combat engineers.
As an additional support measure, Estonia has recently contributed 11 million euros to the international PURL initiative, the main goal of which is to finance the supply of critical military equipment from the United States to Ukraine.
Photos (MInistry of Defence of Ukraine): https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaitseministeerium_mod_estonia/albums/72177720333290628/
