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Estonia, Latvia pledge new military aid for Ukraine

12.01.2024 08:00
Estonia and Latvia have announced fresh military support for Ukraine's war effort against the Russian invasion, with Estonia pledging EUR 1.2 billion until 2027.  
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Estonias President Alar Karis (right) meet in Tallinn, Estonia, on January 11, 2024.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Estonia's President Alar Karis (right) meet in Tallinn, Estonia, on January 11, 2024.PAP/EPA/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT

The two Baltic states unveiled the new aid packages on Thursday.

It came as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky visited both Tallinn and Riga, meeting with top officials, including Estonian counterpart Alar Karis and Latvia's Edgars Rinkevics.

Estonia's president said his country would provide Ukraine with EUR 1.2 billion in military support until 2027.

Meeting reporters alongside Zelensky, Karis also urged the European Union to boost the capacity of its arms industry, to ensure that Ukraine gets "more and better weapons" and "not tomorrow, but today," The Kyiv Independent website reported.

Meanwhile, the Latvian president announced Riga would supply Kyiv with fresh military assistance including "howitzers, 155 mm ammunition and anti-tank weapons," among other hardware.

Rinkevics said Latvia would also provide EUR 15 million until 2027 for Ukraine's reconstruction, while the ministry of defence in Riga plans to train 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers in 2024, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

As part of his tour of the Baltic states, Ukraine's Zelensky also visited Vilnius on Wednesday, with Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda announcing EUR 200 million in new military aid for Kyiv, according to news outlets.

Friday is day 688 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.

Source: UkrinformInterfax-Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent