Dear friends here in Estonia and abroad,
Christmastime is here again – a time for peaceful reflection, a moment to look back on the past year. As the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine approaches its second year, the European and global security is facing a testing time. One thing is clear – we are united, getting stronger by the day, and we will continue to help Ukraine as long as it takes for them to be victorious.
We have made great strides forward in making sure our people, our country, and our region would be safer. Today our Defence Forces are a third larger than a year ago. Our defence budget surpassed the 1 billion euro mark and for the foreseeable future, our defence spending will stay above 3% of our GDP, with more than half of it going into investments in capabilities and ammunition.
Allied forces are here with us and we are grateful and proud of the work we are doing together with troops from the United Kingdom, France and the United States, as well as the Icelandic contribution and the NATO fighters securing our skies. We thank you and your families for the contributions you are making to our collective safety and security.
We wish you all happy holidays and a Happy New Year!
Hanno Pevkur
Minister of Defence