During a working visit to Ukraine, the Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Defence, Kaimo Kuusk, handed over a catalogue of products and services offered by Estonian companies. Ukrainian authorities can select from these offerings based on their critical military needs.
“To achieve lasting peace in Europe, we must acknowledge that Putin has not changed his original goals—defeating Ukraine and restructuring Europe’s security architecture. Just as Putin has no intention of ceasing hostilities, even during potential negotiations, we must maintain unity, increase support for Ukraine, and intensify political and economic pressure on Russia to secure a position of strength. Estonia will continue to support Ukraine in their fight against the aggressor, committing at least 0.25% of its GDP annually, with the majority of these funds invested in measures that enable Estonian companies to contribute to Ukraine’s victory. It is noteworthy that the feedback from Ukraine on Estonian defence industry products has been consistently very positive,” said Kuusk.
The catalogue handed over to Ukraine includes approximately 500 products and services from nearly 100 Estonian companies.
Katri Raudsepp, chair of the expert commission for the measure and Deputy Director-General of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, expressed satisfaction with the strong interest from Estonian companies in offering their products and services to Ukraine.
“It is gratifying to see that our defence industry sector is innovative and growing stronger over time. The capability of our companies to prepare for crises is already at a very high level,” said Raudsepp.
At the end of 2024, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments introduced a new support measure for purchasing products or services suited for targeted use by Ukraine’s defence forces during crises and wartime. All eligible businesses registered in Estonia were invited to submit their products or services for consideration. The submitted products and services had to meet specific criteria: they must be previously developed and marketed, specifically designed for use by defence forces during crises and wartime, and have at least 30% of their production based in Estonia.
An expert commission reviewed the applications to ensure they met these criteria. The commission included representatives from the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, the Defence Forces, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Climate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, and the Government Office.
During his visit, Secretary General Kuusk met with Oleksandr Lytvinenko, Head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, and Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence. Discussions focused on the frontline situation and Estonia-Ukraine defence cooperation in both the short and long term, bilaterally and multilaterally.
“I reaffirmed that Estonia’s position remains unchanged—any peace negotiations must take place only on Ukraine’s terms and with Ukraine’s participation. For peace to be sustainable, a position of strength and effective security guarantees are essential. Both we and the Ukrainians remain convinced that the best, most effective, and most credible guarantee is NATO membership,” Kuusk stated.
“If all countries in the Ramstein coalition contributed 0.25% of their GDP annually to Ukraine’s military assistance, it would amount to up to €120 billion per year—giving Ukraine the necessary strength for negotiations,” Kuusk added.
Additionally, Kuusk visited a Ukrainian National Guard unit in the Zhytomyr region.
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