Yesterday in Brussels during the first day of the NATO defence ministers’ meeting, the focus was on the situation in Ukraine and continuing military aid to Ukraine, discussed at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group and the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
“The defence ministers received an overview of the situation on the front – the counteroffensive is underway and although Ukraine has very good chances for pushing forward, they still need a clear signal from the Allies that we will continue sending military aid. Now during the counteroffensive, it is more important than ever to get that aid to Ukraine,” said the Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
“Estonia is preparing to send yet another military field hospital to the front in Ukraine and this time in cooperation with Iceland. In addition, together with Luxembourg and at the request of the Ukrainians, we started preparations for the creation of an IT coalition. The objective of this coalition will be to map Ukraine’s needs for supporting military IT infrastructure, as well as backing up critical databases similarly to the Estonian data embassies,” added the defence minister.
Within the NATO and Ukraine meeting, the ministers focused primarily on the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius and the future of Ukraine. “Connecting Ukraine closely to NATO and the EU is important for deterring the Russian Federation from further aggression and for offering Ukraine the essential stability it needs to rebuild the country. Estonia firmly believes that NATO membership is the most sustainable and effective way to support Ukraine and foster reconstruction efforts,” said Pevkur.
On the margins of the defence ministers’ meeting, minister Pevkur also met with the new Minister of National Defence and former Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Yasar Güler to discuss cooperation both within NATO and bilaterally.
In addition, the ministers of defence also met defence industry representatives and a meeting was held between the Baltic States and the respective NATO enhanced Forward Presence framework nations and NATO representatives.
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Photos: Kaitseministeerium | Flickr